


Sugar, We're Going Down Kung-Fu Fighting

by speedraceya



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: ADD Bokuto Koutarou, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff and Angst, Kozume Kenma is Gamer Gorl, Kuroo Tetsurou is a gay disaster, Mentions of Masturbation, Minor Character Death, Multi, Non-Explicit Sex, Oikawa Tooru is a Slut, Oikawa Tooru suffers, Panic Attacks, Pining, Reconciliation, Road Trips, Slow Burn, Suga is a "honeypot", Trans Bokuto Koutarou, Tsukishima Kei is a bitch, and also a tech wiz, and has sticky fingers, and they're all of age, and we love him, but like only a lil bit, how the FUCK did i forget the angst tag for sixteen chapters, i am so sorry for killing a character in the first chapter, like it's mentioned but there's no sex scene, lots of pining, not really - Freeform, switching POV
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:26:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 34,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23569048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/speedraceya/pseuds/speedraceya
Summary: Tooru Oikawa's world didn't end the day society collapsed, oh no.It first ended about a week later.Or did it just begin at the loss of a life?(on indefinite hiatus)
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Oikawa Tooru/Sugawara Koushi, Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, past Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru - Relationship
Comments: 327
Kudos: 263





	1. Oikawa Tooru is Not Okay (We Promise)

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2DTXCEXnTU&list=RDMMR2DTXCEXnTU&start_radio=1
> 
> I'm sorry for fucking up your favs.
> 
> Not really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2DTXCEXnTU

This was officially the worst week in Tooru’s life. Last week was close, what with the cell towers going down and the outbreak of a virus that shut down most brain functions. But this? This was so much worse.

Currently, he was cowering behind a bloodied Iwaizumi, weaponless and scared shitless. Iwaizumi had a PVC pipe in his hand, but considering there were about seven zombies converging in on them, it probably wasn’t going to help much. They were already backed into a corner, and Tooru’s frantically beating heart could most likely be heard from two miles away.

Iwaizumi grit his teeth and fixed his grip on the bloody pipe. “Oikawa. When I clear a path, you need to run for it.”

“You can’t be serious.” Tooru stared with wide eyes, his panicked brain not processing the underlying meaning of what he just heard.

The shorter boy glared at him. “Deadly.”

He swung the pipe, knocking one zombie into another, then kicked a third on the left out of the way, before yanking an uncomprehending Tooru by his arm to shove him into the opening. He stumbled a bit before adrenaline-boosted legs got the message and propelled him out of his old bedroom. Looking back, he expected to see his boyfriend right on his heels like he usually was, but all his desperate eyes could see were mangled corpses converging on the bedroom. He halted his sprint, waiting a second for Iwaizumi’s familiar dark hair to appear in the doorway behind him.

He waited another second.

And another.

Cold, drowning terror leaked into his chest. Why wasn’t Iwa following him? What the hell was he doing? All he could hear from the room were the various growling noises of the zombies and the occasional wet thunk which came from a pipe hitting a zombie.

“What are you doing Iwa-chan? Get out!” Tooru screamed, throat closing in on itself as a zombie rounded the corner of the hallway, ambling its way towards him.

“Why are you still here, dumbass?!” Came the strained reply of his boyfriend. _“Leave, Tooru!”_

Tooru stared at the doorway, denial soaking his bones. What was going on? “Why aren’t you coming?”

“I can’t get out, I can’t come with you. _You need to leave!”_ Iwaizumi’s face appeared for a brief second in the doorway, the most terrified Tooru had ever seen it.

Then, Tooru knew. He knew what was going to happen and couldn’t do a thing about it. How was he, weaponless and pissing himself from fear, going to be able to do anything to save the boy he loved? All he did was stand there, useless and frozen.

Iwaizumi’s face contorted in pain and he let out a cry. “I’ve already been bitten. I can’t go with you. You have to stay alive and go on without me, I know-” He broke off with a cough and staggered slightly, before looking up at Tooru, hazel eyes meeting brown for the last time “-I know you can make it. I love you, Tooru.”

And with that, he jerked back into the room. Tooru blinked once, twice, three times before he realized suddenly that the zombie from across the hall was barely a foot away, reaching out to him with crooked fingers. He pushed himself onto unsteady feet and backed away, ragged breaths ripping out of his chest too quickly and tears blurring his vision. Finally, he tore his eyes from the empty doorway and launched into a full sprint towards the stairs, running away from his old bedroom, away from his dying boyfriend, away from the old life he used to know.

He put his foot down a bit too far on one of the steps, misjudging the distance with how wildly his vision was spinning and blurring, and tripped over himself. Desperately, he tried to grab the railing and save himself, only for his hand to slip right off, sweat ruining any tangible grip he could’ve had. He landed painfully hard at the bottom of the stairs and vaguely registered something snapping in his right ankle but forced himself up and onwards, trying to heed Iwaizumi’s last request.

At last, he reached his front door and burst through it, taking a solid two steps before crumbling to the ground on hands and knees and letting loose his grief with a painful sob. His loud crying was probably attracting more zombies nearby but he didn’t care. How could he?

“I love you too, Hajime,” he whispered to the grass underneath his clenched fingers, tears pouring down to join it on the ground. Slowly he looked up to the cloudy gray sky.

“Why did you do that? Why-why did you-” He trailed off after his voice broke, barely preventing himself from screaming the words out into the world. He knew more zombies would only bring him more trouble, and…

And, now he absolutely had to survive. If Iwaizumi’s last words were telling Tooru to stay alive, then he would damn well stay alive. He took a shaky breath after a moment and tried to stand, only to realize his right ankle was bent at a strange angle and swollen past recognition. Great, just what he needed- a broken ankle. He let out a short, bitter laugh and stood again on one leg, spying a wooden board that fell off his window only a couple feet away. He numbly pushed through his pain and grabbed it, balancing himself and taking awkward steps away from what used to be his house.

  


He moved on like that, slowly but driven by his dead boyfriend’s dying wish, making his way into the uncertain future.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1jrfzDg_ZI


	2. Don't Know When He Met You, But He Met You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's the apocalypse! Nothing's illegal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the positive feedback! I owe a HUGE thanks to my sister for proofreading this project and making sure I don't get carried away. I'll try to update weekly, possibly twice weekly thanks to quarantine.
> 
> Now back to Tooru Oikawa dying.

It’d been two weeks since that terrible day, and Tooru Oikawa was suffering. His ankle was still fucked, so he’d tried to make a splint using a couple of smaller planks and some torn up bedsheets, but it still hurt like a bitch. He hadn’t run into too many zombies, though that was probably because he had holed up in a small gas station and was currently living on no-longer-frozen taquitos and whatever sodas were still stocked. Not the best, he surmised, but definitely not the worst. One zombie had made it into the back room of the station a few days ago and it’s remains were locked up, along with the remains of Tooru’s meal that day.

The squelch they make is disgusting, okay? He’s valid for barfing.

Currently, he was sitting on a cleared off counter, resting his injured ankle on a couple of boxes in an attempt to relieve some of the pain. It was sticky, the smell was starting to spread to the rest of the store, and Tooru had never missed his shower more (HA! That rhymed! … maybe he was starting to lose it from the isolation). The store had been raided previously, but whoever did it obviously didn’t take much as there was still a ton of drinks in storage, and the registers looked untouched. Not that there was any need for money anymore, he figured.

He was debating whether or not to get up and grab a drink just to have something to do when he heard the screech of tires outside. This was the first time he’d be seeing anyone else since… He shook his head and shoved his feelings down. Ever since That Day, he’d been on the verge of spiraling into depression, barely keeping motivated enough to stay alive. The only thing that kept him from a complete breakdown was his ability to slip on a happy face and pretend everything was okay (that’s how he got so popular at school, after all- the best way to get people to like you was to pretend you like them).

The sound of muffled voices brought him back to the present, and a spike of fear shot down his spine. He panicked and looked for a spot to hide, which was a little bit hopeless considering he wouldn’t be able to make it anywhere in a short amount of time, due to his injured ankle. The best thing he could think of was to hide behind the counter, so he grit his teeth and rolled right off the side just as he heard the door open with a supposed-to-sound-welcoming-but-was-terrifying-in-this-context jingle.

He screwed his face up and bit his lip hard enough to draw blood to stop himself from crying out at his jarring landing. Rolling off a four-foot counter and smacking his broken ankle on the tile floor was probably not the smartest thing to do. Unfortunately, it was too late now to save his poor, poor ankle, and he couldn’t make any noise or move a muscle now that he heard what sounded like two people stepping into his refuge. Tooru paled and held his breath, knowing he couldn’t take them in a fight, and hoped that they’d either not find him (ideal) or if they did, they’d just leave him alone. One of them whooped, and dashed towards the registers, rooting around for something, and the other began moving towards the drink coolers to Tooru’s right. He shut his eyes tight and clenched his teeth, bracing for the worst.

“Bro, do I take the money too or just the cigarettes?” The one at the checkstand, undeniably male, asked.

The one to Tooru’s right scoffed- another male voice. “Leave the money. It’s useless, remember?”

“Right, right.” More shuffling from the checkstand, and the one to the right paused, oh god not good they could probably see him now and they’re gonna see how weak he is and he was biting his lip so hard it was probably gushing blood now and he prayed to any god who could hear him that it would be someone with a kind face he could reason with and try to talk to before they tried to end his miserable life in a murderous rage and-

“Well, hello there.” Tooru’s heart froze in his chest, and he slowly opened his eyes and looked up, expecting to face his doom, which was apparently the grunge-head who was five feet away, peering at him curiously.

Tooru stammered, trying to come up with some sort of defense as to why he should live, when the other boy crouched and grinned at him, not unlike the Cheshire Cat.

“Quite the disaster you make, huh. What happened to your foot?” Cat Man asked, running a hand through the inky black mass of hair on his head.

Tooru blinked and forced himself to breathe. He should respond, right? Nothing bad happened yet. He wasn’t dead yet. There was still some hope. “Broke it running down stairs.”

Shit, his voice was hoarse as a 60-year-old smoking 5 packs a day. Guess that’s what happens when you don’t speak for 2 weeks.

“Bro, what are you-oh.” The one who’d been rooting through the checkstand approached them, carrying a trash bag full of cigarette cartons in his hands and a strange monstrosity of black and silver hair on his head. Oh goody, now they’re going to kill him together.

Hair Disaster whistled. “How long you been like that?”

“Two weeks.” Tooru felt no need to lie, especially if they were just going to kill him anyways.

The two boys looked at each other wide-eyed, then looked back to Tooru. He gulped.

Cat Man held his hands up in a surrendering motion. “Relax. We’re not here to kill you. If anything, I’m impressed.”

Hair Disaster, still standing, looked around and spotted the mess in the back room with a wince. “Don’t be. He’s just good at hiding.”

Tooru glared (albeit weakly, considering the amount of relief flooding through his bones), and the boy just shrugged it off with a sheepish grin. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that!”

Cat Man offered an arm out, and Tooru studied it with slight suspicion before taking it and struggling to a standing position with his help. “I’m Tetsurou Kuroo, by the way. And this fashion disaster’s Koutarou Bokuto.”

Bokuto sputtered before fixing Kuroo with a glare. “What do you mean, fashion disaster??”

Tooru looked him up and down judgmentally, Popular Boy Vision™ activating immediately, and studied the navy blue hoodie spattered with blood, the torn leggings, and the women’s NIKE shorts. Kuroo was definitely right. Not that Tooru himself was much better, with his tattered school uniform and hair greasier than McDonald’s fries.

Kuroo looked to his companion. “Continue collecting stuff. I’m gonna help our friend...uh...”

“Tooru Oikawa.” He supplied.

“I’m gonna help Oikawa into Karen and get him set up with one of the ice packs. I’ll be back.” Kuroo then slipped an arm around Tooru’s shoulders, helped him out of the gas station, and brought him towards a hot pink roofless Jeep with a fuzzy volleyball dangling from the rearview mirror.

Tooru gaped. “What in the actual hell is that?”

Kuroo let out a scandalized gasp and pat the hood of the monstrosity lovingly. “It’s okay, sweetheart, he didn’t mean it.”

He then turned to Tooru with a proud grin. “This is Karen, our apocalypse vehicle that we may or may not have stolen.”

“You stole it??” The _audacity!_

“It’s the apocalypse! Nothing’s illegal.” Kuroo shrugged, nonchalant. “Plus, we have a guy who can hotwire a car and I can pick locks. So it was pretty easy.”

Tooru sighed, realizing he most likely put his life in the wrong hands. Kuroo opened the backseat door and heaved Tooru up, scooting him back to get a look at the ankle. “Now, I’m no medic, but I do know ice helps the swelling. And to elevate it.”

He reached under the seat and grabbed a black backpack, shuffled through it, and pulled out a ziploc bag of what looked like water. He zipped up the backpack and placed it under Tooru’s injured foot, then shook the baggie, causing it to turn a milky white before freezing into crystals. After deeming it cold enough, Kuroo unwrapped a bit of the makeshift splint to place the baggie flush against the ankle and rewrapped it snugly.

“That should do it, at least for now. We’ll get you to our medic once we’re done looting.” He said, shutting the car door and going to grab something out of the trunk.

Tooru looked at his cooling ankle and quirked a brow. “You’re just gonna leave me here alone, completely defenseless? Way to win a guy over.”

Kuroo shut the trunk with a soft glare, holding up a black case. “I’m trusting you with this. You can’t do close combat, obviously, so I’ll give you something better.”

“Not having to kill zombies would be better, but go off I guess.” Tooru muttered, watching Kuroo open the case and begin assembling a crossbow.

After putting the pieces together, he held out the weapon and a case of bolts to Tooru, who took it with shaky hands, inspecting it to try and figure out how it worked.

“Don’t fire unless you absolutely have to. We don’t have much ammo, and I prefer to not have zombie guts on all my bolts.” Tooru’s stomach turned at Kuroo’s words.

“Duly noted.” He responded, lying the crossbow across his lap.

Kuroo did a once-over of the car, making sure there weren’t any zombies in sight, then ran back into the gas station to assist Bokuto.

  


Fifteen minutes later, the three of them were driving down the road, Bokuto’s phone plugged into the stereo and shitty trap pumping from the speakers. Tooru was thankful that no zombies had approached while the two boys were looting the decrepit gas station.

Bokuto turned the dial on the music down before turning to him. “So what’s your sob story, stranger?”

Kuroo glared at the other boy from the driver’s seat, and Bokuto shrugged. Tooru bit his lip, gripping the crossbow a little tighter, taking a deep breath.

“Lost someone important to me two weeks ago. Broke my ankle trying to avoid the same fate.” He offered, not wanting to retell the whole story and have another breakdown.

Kuroo nodded, understanding. “You’ll hear a lot of that in our merry group.”

Tooru raised a brow. “Group?”

“Oh yeah!” Bokuto grinned. “We have a squad and everything! So there’s me and Kuroo-we’re like the leaders. Kenma’s our techie, and he’s really talented once you get him to put down his gaming systems. Tsukishima’s also a techie, but it’s more of a gun freak kind of techie. He’s really sarcastic and kinda mean, so don’t pick a fight with him. Yamaguchi is our medic, and a total sweetheart, but don’t bring up his braces. He’ll get depressed and then Tsukishima’ll get mad and it’s a disaster.”

Tooru’s head reeled with all the new information, trying to keep track of names. Chances were good if they didn’t kill him within the week he’d end up giving them all nicknames, whether they liked it or not.

“And then there’s you, stranger!” Bokuto finished, eyes twinkling.

“If you decide to stick around once you’re healed, of course.” Kuroo muttered, not as under his breath as he thought.

Tooru debated it mentally. Sure, people were exhausting. He didn’t know these people yet, though, so he decided he’d give them a chance before deciding to bolt and hide away until it blew over or not. Fighting was not an option...

...right?

“Hey, weird question.” Tooru sat up.

Bokuto raised a brow. “Weird answer.”

Tooru ignored this and continued. “After I’m healed, could you guys teach me how to properly fight? There’s no way I’ll survive with the way I am now.”

Kuroo shrugged. “I can teach you a few things, but you’ll probably be better off learning how to use that crossbow properly. Can’t be constantly stopping so you can puke, after all.”

“How-“

“We had to go to the back room to properly loot. Nasty shit, dude.” Bokuto filled in as Kuroo pulled into the driveway of what looked like a storage unit.

“Get out, losers, we’re meeting up with the rest of the bitches.” Kuroo turned to Tooru, grinning wickedly.

  


“I hope you’re prepared.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JBKp0YbSEc


	3. I'll Be Riding Shotgun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Bokuto, don't do anything stupid." Tetsurou said, helping Oikawa to his feet. "On that thought, just don't do anything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meet the Plastics-I mean BitchSquad.

Tetsurou was honestly not sure what to make of Oikawa. The guy seemed confident, sociable, and intelligent, but underneath it seemed something dark was brewing. But Tetsurou was a kind person, whether anyone believed him or not, and gave the poor guy a chance.

He was kinda heavy, though. Probably a good idea to see if they can find some crutches for him.

He and Bokuto helped Oikawa to their shelter, and Bokuto knocked on the door three times. The door slowly rose, revealing a very tired Kenma and a worried Yamaguchi. Tetsurou grinned.

“We brought a friend.” Bokuto told the duo as they passed, and Kenma sighed as the door lowered again.

As soon as they had laid Oikawa on one of the couches in the shelter, Yamaguchi started flitting around, examining his ankle and making sure that was the only injury Oikawa had.

“Clean break,” Yamaguchi announced after thorough investigation. “but you definitely made it worse by continuing to put pressure on it. So you’re on bedrest for two months.”

“Two months??” Oikawa yelped.

Yamaguchi nodded. “Unless you want to permanently damage the bones there, and possibly the tendons and nerves as well.”

Oikawa groaned. “So much for learning to fight.”

Kenma studied him for a second. “There’s no way you’d be a fighter. You probably puke at the noises they make.”

Bokuto and Tetsurou looked at each other before bursting into cackling laughter, causing Oikawa to pout and Yamaguchi to raise a brow. Kenma shrugged before pulling out a battered GameBoy and continuing to play…whatever it was. Yamaguchi patted Oikawa’s arm sympathetically.

“Anyways.” Tetsurou said after calming himself down. “Pudding Head is Kenma-“

“I am not a pudding head, shut up-“

“-and Freckles is Yamaguchi. They’ll be your best friends while you recover. Neither of them fight.”

Oikawa ran a hand through his hair, grimacing at the feel. “I’m Tooru Oikawa. I’ll be in your care, I suppose.”

Yamaguchi grinned. “Nice to meet you, Oikawa! I’m sure Tsukki is around here-“

He was cut off as one of the sleeping bags rustled and fell away to reveal a quite angry blonde beanpole, sans glasses.

Tetsurou snorted. “Speak of the devil and he shall appear.”

Tsukishima glared in his direction. “What the fuck did you do with my glasses.”

“Oh right!” Bokuto snapped, then ran over to the lone table and grabbed said frames and delivered them.

Adjusting his eyes, Tsukishima surveyed the scene, and sighed. “There is no way we can logically take care of a broken person.”

“Why not?” Yamaguchi questioned, tone carefully even.

“Did you ever get trained on broken bones, Tadashi?” The blonde looked to his childhood friend.

“Well, no. But I know enough to help with this!” Yamaguchi defended.

Tsukishima raised a brow, and Yamaguchi huffed. “Just let me prove myself, please!”

The two leveled each other with a stare, then Tsukishima turned away with a click of his tongue. “Just don’t mess it up. That’s the last thing we need.”

Yamaguchi clenched his fist before turning back to Oikawa. “Let me get you some pillows and a pain med.”

Oikawa looked around the room. “Any way I could get a shower or something as well?”

“Only if you’re okay with one of us going in with you so you don’t fall.” Tetsurou gestured to himself and Bokuto, who waggled his eyebrows.

Oikawa made a face. “Is that really necessary?”

Kenma fixed him with a level stare. “Only if you don’t want to fall in the shower.”

“I’ll do it, if you want. Bo’d be insufferable.” Tetsurou offered.

Bokuto let out a fake gasp, then turned away dramatically with a hand on his heart. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s not like I’m desperate for a boyfriend or something.”

Tetsurou barked out a laugh. “More like you don’t know what boundaries are.”

Yamaguchi shuddered, likely thinking back to earlier that week where Bokuto burst in on him showering and just joined in saying “it’d save water”. He _really_ didn’t know what boundaries were.

“Fine, fine.” Bokuto sighed, waving a hand. “Keep the hot stranger for yourself.”

“That’s not-dammit, Bo.” Tetsurou groaned.

Oikawa raised a brow and winked. “If you think I’m hot now wait til I’m clean. I’ll blow you away.”

Bokuto grinned, waggling his brows. “Holding you to that, pretty boy.”

“You’re disgusting.” Tsukishima leered at Bokuto.

“I’m taking him to the shower. Bokuto, don’t do anything stupid.” Tetsurou said, helping Oikawa to his feet. “On that thought, just don’t do anything.”

Three days later, Tetsurou found himself preparing for his weekly trade with some old friends. Yaku Morisuke and his partner (?) Lev Haiba were a traveling duo, and were constantly going to different cities for more supplies, always making sure to grab something for Tetsurou and his crew. Hopefully he could request some medical supplies for the current cripple, but chances were good even those two wouldn’t find much. He’d decided to drag Kenma with this time, mainly just to get him out of the shelter. How that boy was able to spend so many hours stock still playing god knows what, he didn’t know.

“Alright, while I’m gone Tsukishima is in charge. Don’t go anywhere til I’m back, or it’s beans for dinner tonight.” Tetsurou said, shutting the trunk on all the supplies for trading.

Bokuto pouted while Tsukishima smirked down at him, glasses glinting in the late September sun. Tetsurou hopped into the driver’s seat, turning the key and grinning at the engine’s rumble. “Be back in a few hours. Make sure pretty boy stays pretty and in place.”

And with the beginnings of some [video game music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5mkywe1erI) Kenma had pulled up on the iPod connected to the aux cord, they were off.

“So let me get this straight.” Yaku sighed, rooting through the finds in the trunk. “You found some guy scared shitless and broken, decided to take him in, and you don’t see any issues?”

Tetsurou ran a hand through his hair, watching Kenma glare at Lev after he tried to watch over his shoulder play. “I know it seems like a pain in the ass to you. But I’m a nice person.”

The smaller boy leveled him with a glare from behind the trunk lid. “Sure you are. I’ll trade you a bottle of painkillers and two month’s worth of Bokuto’s meds for a carton of cigs and three twelve packs of Dr. Pepper.”

“Deal. He’s been complaining about the lack of shots lately.” Tetsurou said, remembering the other boy’s whining about “regaining his boobs” despite having had top surgery a year ago.

Yaku moved said items to the trunk of his own mini SUV, handing Tetsurou much needed medication. The dark haired male stared at him. “Neither you or Lev smoke, though, right? Why the sudden need for cigarettes?”

“We found a trading colony about two hundred miles out. A single cigarette can get us a day of fresh food.” Yaku responded with a shrug.

Tetsurou nodded at that. “Think this trading colony might have a medical boot for our freeloader? And you can have a second carton if you get some fresh food for us too.”

“I’d have to check.” Yaku grabbed a second carton of cigarettes and tossed into the larger vehicle.

“That’d be much appreciated, thanks.” Tetsurou racked his brain, thinking of anything else they might need.

Yaku grabbed a knife from his belt and held it out to Tetsurou, who raised a brow. “I have a weapon already.”

“I’m well aware of that, considering it nearly took my head off the first time we met.” The fair haired boy averted his eyes. “It’s for your newbie. A crossbow will only get him so far.”

Tetsurou grinned, ruffling Yaku’s hair. “Aw, he DOES care!”

“Shut up!” Yaku hissed, punching the taller boy in the stomach, red-faced. “Lev, quit bothering Kenma and let’s go.”

The silver haired boy turned to them and pouted. “Are we leaving already?”

“Yes, I’m tired and we need to find shelter and dinner anyways.” Yaku responded, already unlocking the doors to the vehicle.

“Fiiiiiiiiine.” Lev dragged himself into the car, only being dramatic for drama’s sake.

Tetsurou snorted and moved Kenma to their car, barely hearing the “good riddance” the other muttered.

“Til next time.” He waved, climbing into the driver’s seat once again, and within seconds they were on the road again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp-vun-FNx0


	4. It's Time For Big Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Stay confused, bitch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quarantine fucking sucks and im touch starved so have some boys being horny on main

“Okay, so hear me out.” Koutarou started. “Two truths, one lie.”

Kuroo groaned and threw a pillow at him. “Go to sleep, Bo.”

“No, no, he’s got a point. Sleepover games are great.” Oikawa piped up from his table bed.

Yamaguchi sat up, stretching. “I’m in. Tsukki?”

Said blonde slapped around the ground for his glasses, groaning. “Fine.”

“Kenma, you joining?” Koutarou looked to the smaller boy, who was currently focused on his PSP.

“I guess.” He said, pausing it and putting it away before crawling over to where the boys were circled.

Koutarou grinned, settling in. Kuroo sat up, hair somehow reaching a new level of messy, glaring at Koutarou. “Not two truths. Do never have I ever. It’s better.”

“We don’t have shots, though?” Oikawa tilted his head, confused.

Kuroo smirked. “I have a single bottle of very dubious sake. We could do truth or dare, but instead of dares you drink from the bottle and die.”

“That’s not morbid at all...” Kenma muttered.

Yamaguchi shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

Next to him, Tsukishima nodded, adjusting his glasses with a yawn. Koutarou beamed before going to grab the bottle, coming back to a circle of semi-sleepy boys.

“I’ll go first, I guess! Oikawa, ever been with a guy? Like, sexually.” He looked to the brunette, who froze up momentarily before putting on an obvious fake smile. He spoke in an oddly flat voice, considering how expressive he usually was.

“Yeah. He, uh. He was great. Loved him. Freckles-kun, how long have you been a metal mouth?” Oikawa turned to Yamaguchi, who jumped at the question before pouting.

“Two years. I was scheduled to get them off next week, but that’s obviously not going to happen.” He gave the group a sarcastic grin to show off his braces.

Kuroo ran a hand through his hair, thinking. “They use a certain chemical to remove the glue, right? We could maybe find it in a dentist’s office, or I could try and make something myself.”

“Do not.” Kenma whirled on the taller boy, glaring. “You don’t have any idea what you’re doing and you’d probably ruin his teeth.”

Yamaguchi whimpered at the thought, and Koutarou reached over to pat him on the head sympathetically. He was pleasantly surprised to find it was soft and hardly greasy. Nice.

“A-anyways. Kuroo, where’s the worst place you’ve ever farted?” Yamaguchi asked.

Kuroo laughed, clearly not expecting that. “Honestly? There was one time I was stuck in my university’s elevator with my past crush. It got stuck between floors and we’d been there for fifteen minutes when lunch decided to fight back. Think I completely ruined my chances that day.”

“Bro, yikes.” Koutarou winced.

“Not my finest hour. Tsukishima, are you and Yamaguchi dating?” The dark-haired boy questioned.

Yamaguchi turned bright red, while Tsukishima pushed up his glasses with a glare. To everyone’s surprise, he grabbed the bottle, unscrewed it, and took a gulp before staring Kuroo directly in the eye.

“Stay confused, bitch.” The blonde smirked, causing Oikawa and Koutarou to whoop and cackle while Kenma groaned and Yamaguchi sighed in relief.

“Kenma, three games you regret ever playing.” Tsukishima looked to the small boy, who curled in on himself with a flush.

“Do I have to answer this?” He groaned, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else than here (which wasn’t all that different from how he normally looked, honestly).

Kuroo held up the bottle with a grin. “You can always pick death.”

Tsukishima winced. “Don’t. It tastes like rotting corpses.”

Oikawa gagged, and Kenma sighed before hiding his face in his hood. “Fine. Three games I regret ever playing are Fortnite, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Dramatical Murder.”

“I know the first two, but what’s Dramatical Murder?” Koutarou questioned.

Kuroo snorted. “It’s a very gay, very pornographic otome game. And the bad ends are REALLY bad.”

Kenma shuddered. “It’s fine. I lived. Bokuto, what’s the thing you miss most?”

“Oh, this one’s easy!” Koutarou grinned. “Hot food.”

“Fatass.” Tsukishima muttered.

“It takes a lot of work for an ass this nice, Tsuki-dude!” Koutarou huffed.

“It is a very nice ass.” Oikawa observed quietly.

“Oh, just wait ‘til you see it randomly in the shower.” Kuroo laughed. “Still nice, but not as welcome.”

“I’m saving water! Leave me alone.” Koutarou pouted.

“Sure you are.” Tsukishima snarked.

“Anyways! Kuroo, who out of all of us would you most like to bang?” Koutarou waggled his eyebrows at a very unimpressed Kuroo.

“Not you, that’s for sure.” The gray-haired boy drooped at this. “Maybe Tsukishima?”

Yamaguchi clenched his jaw, and Tsukishima faked throwing up. “Like I’d let that thing you call a dick anywhere near me.”

Kuroo make a noise of fake offense, and Oikawa let out a small laugh. It was a refreshing sound, especially considering his earlier behavior, and the mood instantly lightened.

“Alright, alright. This one’s for Pretty Boy.” Oikawa paused his laughter. “Last person you sent nudes to.”

At this, he slapped his hands over his face. “You’re terrible. It was actually my RA. I was drunk, and I thought I was sending them to someone else who’d actually be interested in them. Still surprised I didn’t get kicked out for that, actually.”

Yamaguchi started giggling at the admission, causing Kenma to snort and Tsukishima to roll his eyes. Kuroo turned to Koutarou, who grinned back, before they both turned on Oikawa. “You still got ‘em?”

“Disgusting.” Tsukishima muttered to a still-giggling Yamaguchi, and Oikawa sighed.

“Gotta agree with Megane-kun. You’re both gross and frankly, I’m a little concerned.” Oikawa leveled them with a stare.

“Okay, listen.” Koutarou attempted to justify. “My meds make me super fucking horny, and I’m kinda running low on spank bank material.”

Oikawa huffed. “That sounds like a personal problem. Owl-kun, what’s your body count sex-wise?”

Koutarou racked his brain. “Probably around like 25? To be fair, Grindr was my best friend for the past nine months.”

Kuroo wolf whistled, and Oikawa’s jaw dropped. Kenma gave him a disgusted look. “Please tell me you know what safe sex is.”

“Of course I do!” Koutarou was just offended. “I had birth control at the time, and I made sure all my partners used condoms!”

Yamaguchi covered his ears with a blush. “I do not need to know any more about Bokuto’s sex life. In fact, I should just go to bed now.”

“Not so fast, dude! My next questions for you.” Koutarou leaned back in his seat. “Are you ace? Serious question. Cuz every time anyone brings up anything of that nature you look uncomfortable. And I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”

Yamaguchi blinked, before softly smiling. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not ace. If anything, I’d probably fall under demisexual. I just...I’m not super comfortable with hearing big details about other people’s sex life.”

Koutarou nodded, filing that under ‘Things To Definitely Remember’. Yamaguchi stretched, his hoodie riding up slightly, and Koutarou didn’t miss the way Tsukishima’s eyes immediately darted to the sliver of freckled skin revealed before averting, a soft pink rising to his cheeks. _Interesting._

“Anyways, I was serious. I’m going to bed. We can always play this again some other night.” Yamaguchi yawned, before crawling into his makeshift bed.

Tsukishima followed suit, taking off his glasses and setting them within reach before getting into his sleeping bag. Koutarou shrugged, taking the bottle and going to put it away. Oikawa awkwardly shifted to lay down, and Kuroo flopped face first onto his pillow, earning him a chuckle from Kenma. The smaller boy gave a soft glance to the mess of a man beside him before climbing into his bed. _Double interesting._

Koutarou had some matchmaking to do, it seemed.

  


  


But that could wait until tomorrow. For now, sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q1p89oUQUM


	5. So They Can Watch All The Things You Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tooru was absolutely going to stab a bitch today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i completely slander ushiwaka bc he's kind of an ass
> 
> also tw: panic attacks so if that freaks you out PLEASE don't read!
> 
> also also i have art for this fic but would anyone actually wanna see it plz respond

It had been a month since Tooru had last seen the sun, thanks to his ankle, and he was most definitely dying. Not because of the pain, thankfully, since Kuroo had managed to strike a deal with their trade partners for good pain meds. No, he was touch starved and definitely had a vitamin D deficiency. The others had tried their hardest to keep him in good spirits, but there was only so much they could do. He missed being able to walk on his own, he missed his cozy apartment complex, and most of all he missed Iwa-chan.

Not that he was gonna say anything about that last one, though. He still couldn’t think about him for longer than two minutes without tearing up, and it didn’t help that he was mostly lounging around with nothing to keep his mind from straying to thoughts of him. Maybe he should take Bokuto up on his scandalous offers to take his mind off things...

In the middle of his not so innocent musings, Kuroo tapped the top of his head, causing the brunette to turn. “Wanna go outside?”

“Uh. Am I allowed to?” Tooru questioned, causing Kuroo to shrug.

“Probably not a good idea to have you walking around, but Bo and I are gonna meet up with Yaku for supply trading. Supposedly he’s bringing some friends, one of which might be able to help Yamaguchi with his metal mouth.” Kuroo ran a hand through his hair.

Tooru grinned. “If it gets me out of this stink hole, I’m in.”

Kuroo looked, at him, mock offense written on his face. “How rude. We worked hard to make this little shelter a home.”

He wasn’t too wrong. They’d raided a few department stores for furniture and clothing, and Tooru had been promised a trip to the mall once he was able to walk properly. Everyone had a bed with various sheets and pillows, and somewhere Kenma had found a three foot long cat plush. Yamaguchi had plenty of plushes scattered around his bed, most of them Pokemon (thanks, ThinkGeek), and Tsukishima had a dinosaur plush under his bed that he thought no one knew about. Bokuto didn’t have any stuffed animals, but he did grab all the figurines he could and lined them up on the kitchen table, much to everyone’s exasperation. Tooru had Kuroo grab him some extra pillows for his foot and some soft blankets to give him some slight comfort while he was bedridden, but they were pretty dirty by now.

Around the room were other various trinkets, mostly card games (who allowed precious sunshine child Yamaguchi to be so ruthless in Uno?) but there was also quite a bit of trash lying around. In the corner was a plastic bag, filled with empty testosterone shots courtesy of Bokuto. Kenma had a pile of chargers, incredibly tangled, lying by one of the outlets. How he had managed to save so many of his gaming systems Tooru didn’t know, but he sure was curious. The smaller boy had given him a slightly scratched up DS, along with a collection of games, for Tooru to mess with while he was recovering. He’d beaten both of the Pokemon games, replayed the Mario game twice, and was currently playing through a game called Fire Emblem. He almost regretted not expanding his gaming repertoire before the collapse, but he’d had other things on his hands. Exams weren’t going to pass themselves, and volleyball had taken most of his time.

God, he’d kill to play volleyball again.

Actually, maybe not kill. Bad idea.

“So who all is Yaku bringing?” Tooru asked, genuinely curious.

Kuroo thought for a second. “Unless you went to Shiratorizawa before the collapse, you probably wouldn’t know them.”

Tooru paled at that, causing Kuroo to crouch next to him, concerned. “Or maybe you do.”

“There’s only one person I knew who went to Shiratorizawa. He...he and I didn’t get along.” Tooru admitted, biting his lip.

“Wanna talk about it?” Kuroo raised a brow.

Tooru nodded. “I can talk about him. We both played volleyball, but we were on opposing teams, as much as he hated the fact. I didn’t mind it, but after every game he’d constantly tell me I should’ve gone to Shiratorizawa. Iw-people always said it was because he wanted me on his team and he didn’t know how to properly convey that, but I never really saw it that way. Especially since he stalked all my social media to find out everything about me.”

Kuroo grimaced. “How’d you even find out about that?”

“Besides the liking of five-year-old status updates? He’d bring up things I posted in casual conversation.” Tooru sighed, before donning a stoic face and deeper voice. “Did you know, that on August 3rd, two years ago, Tooru Oikawa got locked into the bathroom by his roommate?”

“Wait, did you actually?” Kuroo snorted.

Tooru nodded, going back to his normal demeanor. “He got mad that I hadn’t done dishes so he locked me in while I was showering. Jokes on him, I had a very nice relaxing bath that day.”

Kuroo grinned. “Hell yeah. Treat yourself.”

“I’m hoping none of these people are him, but if they are and he does the stalker thing or brings up me going to Shiratorizawa I will stab a bitch.” Tooru sighed, leaning back. “And please don’t stop me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Kuroo ruffled Tooru’s hair, much to his annoyance (at least, outwardly).

Tooru was absolutely going to stab a bitch today.

“Kuroo, this is Wakatoshi Ushijima, Satori Tendou, Eita Semi, Tsutomu Goshiki, and Kenjiro Shirabu.” Yaku introduced, pointing to each of the purple-clad boys in order. “Ushijima’s the one who’s been providing the fresh produce, and Semi is the one who can help you with Yamaguchi’s braces.”

Semi waved good-naturedly, and Tooru noted that while he was definitely cute, he WAS from Shiratorizawa. And fuck those guys. Especially Ushijima, who immediately approached Tooru, causing Kuroo and Bokuto to subtly reach for their weapons.

“Oikawa. It’s good to see you alive and well.” Ushijima bowed slightly, causing Tooru to roll his eyes.

“Can’t exactly say the same to you, Ushiwaka.” He remarked before Ushijima stood up straight again, looking around.

“Something you’re looking for, big guy?” Kuroo practically snarled.

Bokuto huffed. “Probably a sniper.”

“No.” Ushijima shook his head. “It’s just rare to see Oikawa without Iwaizumi.”

It came out of nowhere, completely unexpected, taking a sledgehammer to Oikawa’s perfectly crafted haughty-pretty-boy mask. His signature smirk crumbled and he froze. This was not happening right now. This was _not_ happening right now. _This was not happening right now._

He repeated the words like a mantra in his head, knowing it was futile to try and force the smile back up- not when his chin was wobbling, and his eyes were too wide and filling with tears, and his face was scrunching up with the start of a sob reaching its way out of his throat.

He vaguely registered Kuroo and Bokuto looking concerned in his peripheral. It was pitiful, wasn’t it? The fact that he couldn’t even keep himself together at the mere mention of Iwaizumi’s name? It’s just that… the second he even heard it, all he could think of was the desparate look on his face as he was pulled back from the doorway, the way his voice, raw and frightened, formed the last words he would ever say, the way Tooru had just stood there and watched it happen, the sound of the squelch signifying Iwaizumi’s bitter end, the sound of his screams, piercing through the air as Tooru ran away down the stairs not looking back and oh god how was he ever going to live through this and how was he going to forget that this all happened and it was his fault and he-

“Oikawa! Listen to me, dammit!” He blinked and looked around wildly, eyes catching on the figure in front of him with the familiar mess of black hair. “You’re safe, okay? It’s going to be alright. I don’t know what’s got you like this, but we’ll get you through it.”

Tooru stared at Kuroo, realization flooding in about just how fast he was breathing, panicked gasps passing through his lips which had been bitten to the point of bleeding. Kuroo was looking into his eyes, strong and steady. “You need to actually breathe, okay? Try to breathe with me.”

As he attempted to slow his frantic breathing along with Kuroo’s, he started to register the hands on his shoulders, the wetness on his face, the people standing around them with equally concerned looks on their faces. Bokuto was there, too, standing at Kuroo’s side, blocking the others’ view of the panicked mess with his broad shoulders.

He didn’t want this. He didn’t want them to know. This was why he covered things up with a smarmy smile. It was easier to have people assume he was just an asshole and keep their distance than for them to get too close and leave him just-

Just like Iwa-chan had.

At that, he let out a broken wail and started full-on sobbing, dropping his head onto Kuroo’s shoulder and just letting it all out, because they’d already seen it, hadn’t they? He couldn’t take it back, so might as well just let it all out. He knew he’d have to explain why he got so worked up later, tell everyone about Iwaizumi, but for now, Kuroo’s arms were slipping around his back, and Bokuto fell into place on his other side with an embrace as well, warm and strong arms grounding him until his sobs slowed to small shudders and sniffles.

Finally, he took a deep, albeit shaky, breath and lifted his head to meet the worried gazes, giving them a small nod to show that he was done. The other boys gave him a quick once-over before unwrapping their arms and moving to stand on Tooru’s sides, supporting him with hands on his shoulders and their steadfast, protective presences.

Tooru wiped his face and schooled his expression into a poor excuse for his signature grin, letting out a small, unconvincing laugh. He didn’t spare a look at Ushijima, knowing he’d only act one of two ways: one, he’d start sobbing all over again, or two, he’d start a whole fist fight. And neither of those things were what the group needed at the moment. He’d only gotten in the way; they needed to actually do what they came here for. “Sorry about that, haha.”

Ushijima didn’t even react to the breakdown, instead turning to where a pile of fruit crates sat. One of the younger looking boys, Goshiki if Tooru remembered correctly, looked very concerned, but Semi put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, muttering something to the dark-haired boy.

“So we’re just gonna get our supplies and figure out the braces and get out of here. Alright?” Kuroo semi-glared at Ushijima.

Tendou shrugged. “I’m surprised he’s lasted that long if he reacts like that to a name.”

“Hey, fuckface? Don’t.” Bokuto warned, something dangerous flashing through amber eyes.

The redhead promptly shut up, and Ushijima began loading the crates of food into Karen. Semi walked over to Kuroo and began quietly conversing about the specifics of Yamaguchi’s braces, while Bokuto stayed with Tooru and made sure he was okay.

“You wanna talk about this later?” He asked, voice low.

Tooru shook his head. “I’d rather not. Not yet.”

Bokuto nodded. “Take your time. We’re here for you.”

“Thanks.”

And for once, Tooru’s smile was genuine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iohnRqXn74


	6. Hey Now, You're an All-Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How mean. I was even gonna offer to suck your dick."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the shitstorm last chapter now back to your regularly scheduled crack
> 
> and bokuto being bokuto

Later that night, once they’d gotten all the supplies loaded up and set up an “appointment” with Semi to get Yamaguchi’s braces off, Tooru decided he was in desperate need of a long, hot shower. Today had been stressful, and he needed some form of relaxation.

He hadn’t even been under the water for five minutes before the curtain rustled, and he whirled around to find a very naked Bokuto.

“Hey hey hey, dude.” He grinned with a wave, and Tooru instinctively grabbed the curtain to cover himself.

“What the fuck, dude??” Tooru screeched, sure his face was turning an interesting shade of red.

Bokuto raised a brow. “First of all, I’m saving water by showering with you. Second of all, we can talk in here without anyone hearing. Third of all, you’re hot as fuck and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying the view.”

“You’re a fucking pervert.” Tooru hissed.

“Mayhaps.” Bokuto grinned, climbing in properly and grabbing the soap.

Tooru sighed. What the hell had he gotten himself into?

Although it wasn’t like Bokuto was ugly. Quite the opposite. Sure, his hair style was questionable (where’d he get all the hair gel anyways?), but goddamn those biceps were hot as hell. But what Tooru was drawn to most were the twin scars underneath his nipples.

“See something you like?” Bokuto wiggled an eyebrow, already lathering up his hair, and Tooru averted his eyes.

“The scars. Do they ever bother you?”

Bokuto looked adorably confused for a second. “Why would they bother me? I’d rather have them than big lumps of fat.”

“Scars are...usually ugly.” Tooru stated.

“Maybe to some people.” Bokuto began rinsing his hair out. “But for me, they’re like medals. Proof that I can handle anything.”

“Huh.” Tooru muttered, before turning to grab the shampoo for himself.

From behind him, he heard Bokuto snicker, and he turned around to see what was so funny when he realized that intense gaze was fixed on his butt. “What?”

“Where’s all your ass, dude?”

Tooru flushed an angry red. “Sorry we can’t all be built like a brick shithouse!”

“Oh my god, you’re sensitive about it!” Bokuto cackled, causing Tooru to throw one of the soap bottles at him.

“You just ruined any chances you had of getting laid with that statement, you know.” He huffed, rinsing off his hair.

Bokuto pouted. “How mean. I was even gonna offer to suck your dick.”

Tooru couldn’t lie, that sounded pretty appealing.

“I’ll think about it.” He hummed non-committedly as he ran the conditioner through his hair.

Bokuto grinned at this before grabbing the body wash and scrubbing himself down. Tooru took a moment to continue admiring him, from thick thighs to sculpted back to the tiny bit of stubble he’d managed to grow. It almost reminded him of too-early morning lectures, complete with coffee and dark stubble on sun-kissed skin.

Wait, no. Let’s not break down again. Go back to focusing on the hot guy in front of you.

A week later found the squad, sans Kenma, in an orthodontist’s office that Semi claimed was his father’s. Yamaguchi was reclined on one of the seats, equipment set up to keep his mouth open properly, and Tsukishima was situated nearby, watching carefully. Kuroo and Bokuto had wandered off to check out the kids play area, and Tooru was definitely not admiring Semi from his spot on one of the chairs, pretending to play the Persona spinoff game Kenma had told him to play. Not that he was really complaining about it, the smaller boy had good taste in games.

As Semi got to work, Yamaguchi turned pale, gripping the chair tightly. Tsukishima noticed, and with a soft blush grabbed his hand. Tooru smiled at the rare display of affection from the blonde, but he supposed it made since considering their past. Apparently the two were childhood friends, ever since Tsukishima scared off some of Yamaguchi’s bullies. They’d been inseparable since, even with Tsukishima’s prickly personality. There were definitely feelings between the two, but any time anyone brought it up Tsukishima would snap at them. Tsundere or scared of commitment, Tooru wasn’t sure, but he definitely knew what it was like to have feelings for someone you’d known most of your life. And sometimes, it just fucking sucked.

Tooru hoped things would work out for them. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was precious, patient Yamaguchi. Even if his choice in boys was questionable.

His musings were interrupted by a shout from where Kuroo and Bokuto were, and he got up and hobbled over to find a small playset in the waiting room, Kuroo at the bottom of the slide trying to climb up and Bokuto nowhere to be seen. Tooru raised a brow, knowing this was not going to end well.

“Dude, get me outta here! It hurts!” Bokuto’s muffled voice came from the entrance of the slide, and Tooru peered around to find that the dumbass had gotten himself stuck in the slide.

Kuroo was too busy laughing to properly climb the slide, and Tooru couldn’t even blame him. Bokuto was crumpled into a ball, but somehow his arms had gotten trapped over his head. Why had Tooru agreed to do anything with him?

“Bro, hold on, I’m trying to come up.” As he said this, Kuroo slid all the way down the slide, falling backwards off the lip onto his ass.

Tooru groaned. “Please don’t make me try and go up there.”

“Oh, Oikawa! Hey, can you climb around the back and just shove me through?” Bokuto grinned sheepishly.

“What did I just say??”

Kuroo got up, rubbing where he hit, and went to where the stairs were and climbed up. Tooru heard a soft “ouch” before Bokuto was abruptly dislodged, sliding down with Kuroo right behind him. The taller boy was rubbing his forehead, while Bokuto stretched out.

“Thanks dude!” He beamed at Kuroo, who just waved him off.

“Don’t get stuck again.”

Yamaguchi hadn’t stopped poking at his teeth since they left the office. At first, it had been kind of cute. Now it was just annoying.

“Leave them alone, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima lightly smacked his hand away from his face, causing the freckled boy to pout.

“Sorry, Tsukki. It just feels weird.” He admitted. “You’re sure they don’t look misshapen?”

“Like I’ve said the last twenty million times, your smile is still perfectly adorable, Freckles-kun.” Tooru groaned, grabbing for the device hooked up to Karen’s auxillary.

Bokuto glared at him for even trying, having claimed that only the person in shotgun was allowed to control the music, and Tooru didn’t mind at first-and then the himbo had busted out the meme music. He’d take literally anything over yet another We Are Number One remix.

Seriously, didn’t this guy know current memes?

At least Tsukishima had the right idea, having brought his earbuds with him and was now offering one to Yamaguchi, who took it with a soft smile. Tooru vaguely wondered what kind of music the two liked. Probably punk or metal for Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi was probably into soft emo. He definitely gave off “Brendon Urie was my gay awakening” vibes.

Not like Tooru had been much better, but we don’t need to talk about that.

“Hey, weird question.” Bokuto started, lowering the music. “But like what’s your ideal significant other?”

Kuroo snorted. “Small. Sarcastic. Dorky.”

“That’s just Kenma?” Bokuto tilted his head, confused.

“I’m aware.” Kuroo focused on the road. “He knows I’ve had feelings for him for years, but he doesn’t feel the same. So now I just pine quietly and die inside.”

“I know how that goes.” Yamaguchi muttered under his breath.

Tooru put a finger to his cheek, thinking. “I think my type is best summed up as ‘mom friend’. I don’t really care how they look, but a bright grin is always a plus.”

“I can get behind that.” Bokuto nodded. “But I think my type is more tall, dark-haired and handsome. Pretty eyes are a must.”

“I think more of a must for you is being able to put up with your bullshit.” Tsukishima scoffed, causing Yamaguchi to snort.

“Okay, rude!” Bokuto pouted.

Yamaguchi grinned. “You guys already know my issues with having a type.”

“I guess that just leaves the salty one, then.” Kuroo smirked.

Tsukishima glared, pushing his glasses up. “I don’t have a type. I try not to do romance.”

“Dude, what?? Why?” Bokuto gaped. “Having a romantic partner is great!”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m an asshole. Even if someone did agree to date me, eventually they’d get tired of it.” Tsukishima stated, leaning back.

“What if there was someone who liked you for being an asshole?” Yamaguchi asked, the tips of his ears turning red.

Tsukishima sighed. “Then I’d ask them what the hell is wrong with them.”

Yamaguchi bit his lip and looked away. The poor boy was in so deep, and Tooru felt so bad. He deserved better than this bitter boy.

But really, who had time for love when the apocalypse was going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxasaLZMCrA


	7. Interior Crocodile Alligator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If that reason is sex toys, I will run you over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get in losers we're going SHOPPING

Tooru could finally walk properly, no boot or splint needed.

“Now that you’re free, what do you want to do?” Kuroo asked, cleaning off his wooden bat.

Tooru looked at himself and his completely trashed uniform. “I need clothes. Desperately. Think the mall will be bad?”

Kuroo grinned. “Not if we take Karen and her new attatchment.”

“Attatchment?” Tooru was very confused.

“I made a machine gun turret for the car.” Kenma piped in, tapping at a tablet. “Loud, but so is the car. And Tsukishima helped.”

“Because you have no idea how guns work.” Tsukishima retorted from where he was playing a card game with Yamaguchi.

Kenma huffed, shutting off the tablet. “Sorry we can’t all be trigger happy Texans.”

“We’re all from San Fransisco?” Bokuto muttered as well as he was able to.

“Semantics. We’re going shopping, bitches.” Kuroo got up, pulling the keys out of his pocket, and Tooru grinned.

Getting into the mall? Easy peasy. Finding clothes not ugly as fuck and/or covered in gore? Difficult.

The mall party ended up being Bokuto, Kuroo, Tsukishima and Tooru. Kuroo decided that Bokuto was desperately in need of a wardrobe update, and he was absolutely right. Nike shorts and leggings were not a good idea. Tsukishima had only been dragged along because he was the only one who knew how to work the turret, much to his displeasure.

“Make sure you grab winter clothes for everyone. It’s going to start getting colder.” Kuroo reminded them, rooting through one of the racks of jeans.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “Yes, mother.”

“Don’t you sass me, young man.” Kuroo threw a jacket at the blonde, who yelped. “If anyone needs the padding it’s your twiggy ass.”

Bokuto snickered from the shoe area. “Can’t relate.”

Tooru sighed, tossing ugly shirt after ugly shirt off the racks. “Tell me why we decided to raid a Macy’s first?”

“Big store. Lots of stuff.” Kuroo shrugged, holding a pair of ripped jeans up to his hip.

“Can we go to Spencer’s next? For reasons.” Bokuto asked.

“If that reason is sex toys, I will run you over.” Tsukishima glared, causing Bokuto to flush and look away.

They ended up sweeping through the Macy’s quickly, grabbing warm jackets and jeans for everyone, while Tooru sneakily picked up some skincare from the Clinique stall and several bottles of perfume he never would’ve been able to afford before. Bokuto had grabbed at least five pairs of shoes for himself, all high-end sneakers, which Kuroo only sighed about but let him. Tsukishima had grabbed a couple of skirts and hidden them in his bag with a flush, thinking no one saw him, but he’d failed to notice Tooru lurking a couple of aisles away. Not that he was going to say anything, there was probably a reason he was hiding them. After piling all their goods in the car, they quickly zoomed over to Spencer’s as Bokuto had requested, and both he and Tooru zipped straight to the back.

“Guessing hands just aren’t enough, huh.” Tooru teased as Bokuto looked through the toys, making a face at a few of the...questionable ones.

Like honestly, who needed a “unicorn cock” dildo?

Bokuto sighed. “I mean, having someone else get me off is always preferable, but that’s not really an option anymore.”

Tooru raised a brow. “Am I a joke to you?”

Bokuto turned to him, eyes wide. “You’re kidding. Right?”

“Serious. Life’s kinda sucked since I stopped being able to get laid on the regular.” Tooru admitted.

Bokuto considered it for a moment. “So it’d essentially be a friends-with-benefits thing?”

“Yup.”

“And you don’t care that I don’t really have the right equipment?”

“Get a strap-on, dumbass.”

Bokuto blinked. “Oh, duh. Anything I should avoid saying or doing?”

“Besides what you already know? Nothing I can think of.” Tooru shrugged.

“Are you two done being horny? This place smells like old weed and it hurts my head.” Tsukishima complained from the front.

Tooru and Bokuto looked at each other and snickered, before grabbing an assortment of toys and lube before heading back to the front. Kuroo had a tee shirt in his hands, and held it out to Tooru, who raised a brow.

“Seemed like your style.” Kuroo shrugged.

After putting his stuff in the car, Tooru picked up the shirt and examined it. It was a light teal, almost the exact teal he used to wear on the court, and had a breast pocket with a cat on the inside. He peeked inside the pocket to find the cat was flipping him off, and he snorted. ”This is perfect.”

“Please tell me we’re done here.” Tsukishima sighed.

“If by here you mean Spencer’s, then yes.” Kuroo said, climbing into the driver’s seat. “If by here you meant the mall, then no we are not done.”

Tsukishima groaned, pushing his glasses up. “Fucking fantastic.”

They were finally driving out of the mall. Kuroo had jokingly grabbed cat ears for Kenma, and had grabbed himself a pile of vintage band tees. Bokuto had raided the sporting goods store, grabbing athletic wear as well as a multitude of weapons. Tsukishima ended up making them go into a bookstore, grinning when he saw the books were completely undisturbed. Tooru had gotten a mix of stupid things and legitimate needs. Sure, he got himself a pair of winter boots and a trench coat, but he also got himself a bunch of slime and some rose-colored shades from the Five Below. He’d also grabbed a ton of expensive makeup from the Sephora, and were driving out when they noticed a crowd of zombies in the food court, all converging on a single point.

Bokuto squinted, trying to see what they were fixated on, and gaped. “Guys.”

“I think there’s a survivor in there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6v0nhEFUK8


	8. Daylight is Fading Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Smooth."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha SIKE

At Koutarou’s words, the rest of the gang sprung into action, Kuroo grabbing his bat and handing Koutarou’s pipe to him. Oikawa grabbed his crossbow, setting himself up in a good position to snipe, and Tsukishima scrambled into the new turret, clicking his tongue.

“I won’t be able to shoot until you get that survivor out of there. Hurry.” Tsukishima adjusted the seat in the turret.

“Aye aye, captain.” Kuroo grinned, launching himself out of his seat and jumping into the fray, Koutarou on his heels.

In Koutarou’s opinion, fighting zombies was almost fun. It was a hell of a stress relief, and most of the zombies were still in whatever they died in, most of the time pjs. But there were a couple zombies here that had very questionable fashion taste. Especially the guy with a suit jacket on top of a hoodie, who does that?

Oh god, Oikawa was rubbing off on him too much. Focus, Koutarou.

While Kuroo stuck mainly by the car, Koutarou took it upon himself to work his way to where the survivor was. He caught a glimpse of dark hair before the zombies got in his way again, and he growled before bashing in their heads. Slowly but surely, he made his way over, and upon seeing who it was, froze.

He’d never seen anyone so effortlessly gorgeous. Especially covered in blood.

Twin silver katanas flashed as the other made quick work of a couple of zombies. The apocalypse angel turned, and Koutarou swore his heart stopped beating. Teal eyes did a once over, framed by slightly curly black hair and a bit of guts on his cheek. His garb was simple, a white button up done up a little over halfway, stained with blood, proof that he could easily handle himself in a fight. And the most important thing in Koutarou’s mind-his jeans were cuffed. _Jackpot._

Suddenly, his eyes widened in fear, before he threw one of his katanas right past Koutarou’s head, causing him to snap out of it. He whirled around to see the sword sticking straight out of a twin-tailed zombie’s forehead. He looked back, and gulped seeing the expression on the pretty boy’s face.

He was _pissed._

“Are you going to actually help me out here, or are you going to sit there and drool?” He arched a delicate brow, turning back to the zombies and continuing to cut them down with his remaining blade, and Koutarou shook his head.

“Sorry, got lost in thought there.” He responded, swinging his pipe baseball style into a zombie, causing them to fall backwards into a few more.

The two fell into a comfortable rhythm, fighting together as if they’d known each other for years. Koutarou attempted to not get distracted by the beauty beside him, but it was awfully difficult with those hypnotizing teal eyes looking over to him every few moments. He hoped it was because he was impressed with what he saw, and not that he had something on his face or toilet paper on his shoe or something stupid like that.

After a few strenuous minutes, they’d cleared out all the enemies, and Kuroo looked at the newcomer with a brow raised. “What the hell were you thinking, taking them all on alone?”

The other leveled him with a glare. “I didn’t plan on getting ambushed.”

Oikawa looked over the dark-haired boy, and Koutarou felt a flare of jealousy. Which was ridiculous. He didn’t even know the other boy’s name!

But he saw him first, so ha.

“Need a shelter? We have room.” Kuroo offered as Tsukishima made his way over.

The other boy shook his head, causing those gorgeous curls to muss themselves up. “Appreciated, but I have a place of my own.”

“And what about a medic?” Oikawa questioned out of nowhere. “You look pretty cut up.”

The stranger gave himself a once-over before shrugging. “Minor scrapes. I can patch it up.”

Kuroo paled. “Don’t tell me you’re all on your own.”

“And if I am?” He challenged.

“Then you’re ridiculous, and you’re practically asking for death.” Kuroo almost growled.

“Maybe I get dragged down by others. Maybe I don’t want to get attached to someone just to see them die a week later.” Teal eyes stared down dark brown, causing Bokuto to realize he needed to intervene.

“Okay, so maybe you don’t have to stay with us. But at least let us patch you up and get you food.” Koutarou offered with a smile, causing the pretty boy to sigh.

“Fine. But that’s it. You’re never seeing me again, and I sure don’t want to see you guys again.”

On the drive to the shelter, the group learned that his name was Keiji Akaashi, he had immediately isolated himself as soon as things had collapsed, and that he had the cutest habit of calling Koutarou “Bokuto-san”. Oikawa insisted on flirting with him, but thankfully he just rolled his eyes every time instead of flirting back. Koutarou hadn’t taken his eyes off of Akaashi since he entered the car, and he was pretty sure Tsukishima and Oikawa were fed up with him. Kuroo either didn’t care or didn’t mind, he was too busy driving anyways.

Seeing that Koutarou was distracted, Oikawa grabbed the aux cord and plugged in his phone, grinning wickedly as he pushed [play](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izGwDsrQ1eQ). Kuroo and Tsukishima groaned, and Koutarou felt his face and ears heat up. Akaashi looked as unbothered as he had the last few minutes. Honestly, who allowed this man to be so damn pretty? Those long lashes dusting lightly tanned cheeks, and the wink of an onyx stud behind curled locks framing his ears, and the way those gorgeous eyes were looking at him with a mixture of confusion and annoyance...

Fuck, was he drooling?

“Is there something on my face, Bokuto-san?” He arched a delicate brow, his words causing Oikawa and Kuroo to snicker.

Koutarou cleared his throat. “O-of course not! Don’t worry about it, Akaashi!”

“Smooth.” Tsukishima muttered, deadpan.

“Shut up.” Koutarou turned and hissed.

Kuroo and Oikawa turned to each other, a wicked glint in their eyes. “Say, Bo.” The dark-haired boy started.

Koutarou groaned. “What?”

Oikawa turned to him, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “How many of those toys did you grab again?”

“There had to be at least ten.” Kuroo claimed.

Koutarou buried his face in his hands. “You guys are the worst.”

Akaashi tilted his head, amusement written across his face. “What kind of toys, Bokuto-san?”

“Definitely not child appropriate ones, that’s for sure.” Koutarou muttered, curling in on himself.

Akaashi chuckled. “Understandable. Not even zombies can curb sex drive.”

Tsukishima sighed. “You’re all disgusting. We could die any day and you guys are more interested in getting your rocks off?”

“Here for a good time, not a long time, Tsukki.” Kuroo grinned.

There was a loud thump as Tsukishima’s foot connected with the back of Kuroo’s seat. “Don’t call me that.”

Finally, they pulled into the parking lot of their shelter, only to find Kenma and Yamaguchi already outside.

That probably didn’t bode well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjGZLnja1o8


	9. And You Know That Life Will Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I would literally rather die, thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen shit's gonna hit the fan in a bit so here's some minor angst and gay
> 
> that's all i know how to do
> 
> points if you get my obscure anime reference(s)

“There’s a giant dead rat in there.” Kenma blurted when Tetsurou and the others had worriedly walked over.

Tsukishima paled slightly, causing Yamaguchi to pat his shoulder sympathetically. “It’s not gorey, but it’s definitely recently dead.”

Akaashi raised a brow, while Bokuto headed towards the building. “I’ll get it out of there.”

Tetsurou snorted, managing to disguise it as a cough. There was no way. Bokuto didn’t deal well with rats at all, especially dead ones, so he was probably just showing off for their temporary guest. Tetsurou would make fun of him, but he’s definitely done stupider things trying to impress Kenma.

But that was beside the point.

Everyone watched as Bokuto walked in, only to come out moments later, completely freaked out.

“That is a big ass, twitching rat.” He said, going to cling to Oikawa’s arm. The brunette pet his head in response.

“There, there, Owl-chan. At least it’s not bloody.” He consoled the panicked boy, and the entire group watched as Akaashi walked into the rat’s den, completely blank faced.

“Quick question.” Kenma asked, hiding behind Tetsurou slightly. “Who’s that?”

“Oh, that’s Akaashi. We found him at the mall and I’m pretty sure Bo wants to marry him.” Tetsurou grinned, his words causing Bokuto to turn bright red.

“Dude, shut up! He could hear you!” Bokuto hissed, letting go of Oikawa.

“So you aren’t denying you would marry him given the chance.” Tsukishima smirked.

Bokuto flapped his mouth for a few moments, trying to form an argument, but ultimately gave up right as Akaashi walked out, holding...the rat?

“First of all, it was a possum. They’re notorious for playing dead.” He said, scratching the possum under the chin. “Second of all, you’re all pussies and I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long.”

“That’s fair.” Kenma muttered from behind Tetsurou.

“Maybe we need you around to keep us alive then!” Oikawa grinned. “We can get you your own room and everything!”

Akaashi glared softly. “I told you. No.”

Bokuto pouted, and Yamaguchi tilted his head. “If you’re not staying with us, then why are you here?”

“Your ‘leader’ offered to feed me and patch me up. I’ll take what I can get.” Akaashi shrugged, putting the possum on his shoulder, where it clung on.

Kenma stared for a second at Akaashi. “You’re afraid to get attached, aren’t you?”

Akaashi blinked, before narrowing his eyes slightly. “Aren’t you observant.”

“What do you have to lose?” Kenma continued. “People are stronger together. I get you might be afraid of us literally stabbing you in the back, but what the hell would we have to gain from that?”

“What do I have to lose?” The dark-haired boy scoffed. “A lot, actually. I’ve already lost everyone I care about, and I can’t afford to lose any more.”

“You think you’re the only one who’s lost a loved one?” Oikawa burst out, surprising everyone. “Newsflash, buddy, we’ve all lost something. Get your head out of your ass.”

Akaashi grit his teeth. “I’m not joining you, end of discussion.”

Tetsurou sighed, scratching the back of his head. “Hope you know the way back to your base from here, dude.”

“What does that mean?” Akaashi whirled on him, causing him to hold his hands up in surrender.

“Well, from what I can tell, you don’t want us knowing where you’re staying. And I don’t feel right dropping you at the mall. So you’re kinda stuck here, dude.”

At that, Akaashi sighed, picking the possum up and holding it like a baby. “Was this your plan all along?”

“Yes.” Bokuto pitched in, causing Oikawa to smack him.

“Not at all.” Tetsurou corrected. “But it works in our favor. Also, we should probably go inside before the horde comes for us.”

They all made various noises of agreement, and headed into the shelter room. Akaashi surveyed it, before walking over to the table and picking up one of Bokuto’s figurines.

“Is this Cure Peach?” He asked, admiring it, and Bokuto walked over.

“No idea. I just grabbed it cuz it was cute.” He admitted, scratching the back of his head.

Akaashi snorted. “Now I have to go back to my base to grab my laptop and educate you.”

Oikawa, who had flopped back on his bed, sat up with a panicked look. “Where’s he going to sleep? There’s no more room.”

“We did offer him his own room.” Kenma pointed out, turning on his DS and flopping against a now-blushing Tetsurou. “Maybe we should clear out the other storage rooms and give everyone their own room, and make this the main room.”

“Can we please do that? Kuroo snores way too loud.” Yamaguchi complained, causing Tsukishima to snort softly.

Tetsurou glared weakly. “Thanks. And here I thought you were the nicer of the not-couple.”

Yamaguchi just grinned in response.

“Okay, so remember when we played Truth or Truth?” Bokuto asked a week later, when everyone had organized their own rooms and everyone was congregated in the main room. “What if we do that again, but we talk about serious stuff only?”

“I would literally rather die, thanks.” Oikawa smiled, all venom and daggers.

“No, he has a point. There may not be therapists anymore, but we need to talk about this anyways. Plus it’ll help us know each other’s triggers in case of panic attacks.” Tetsurou looked directly at Oikawa when he said that, causing the other man to huff.

“I...I suppose I can handle that.” Akaashi’s voice was muffled from where he’d been cocooned in blankets by Bokuto after he had shivered once.

“I don’t have much to talk about, but I’m definitely willing to listen!” Yamaguchi beamed, causing the room to somehow brighten up a little more.

“Fine. But this better not turn into a blackmail session.” Tsukishima glared softly.

“Not immediately it won’t.” Tetsurou grinned at Tsukishima, who groaned.

The boys circled around, Bokuto right next to a still-kinda-bundled Akaashi, and Kenma pretended not to notice his thighs pressed against Tetsurou’s. God, he was so gone for the small boy.

Oikawa looked around the circle. “Who’s going first?”

Yamaguchi raised his hand. “I will, I guess. I don’t really have anything tragic...I did have braces until like a month ago. Does that count as tragic backstory?”

“Not really.” Bokuto told him.

“That’s fair.” The freckled boy put his hand on his chin, thinking. “My parents might be out there still, I’m not sure. They were out of town when things happened, and I was staying over at Tsukki’s.”

“What were you staying over for?” Tetsurou wiggled his brows, causing Yamaguchi to flush and Tsukishima to glare at him.

“We had a group project. Quit insisting we’re dating.” The blonde huffed. Yamaguchi looked down and bit his lip nervously.

“Alright, alright, chill. I’m just fucking around, Tsukki.” Tetsurou mocked, and a pillow hit him in the face.

“Stop calling me that, you oversized hyena.”

“Okay, okay, moving on! Tsuki-dude, you go.” Bokuto interrupted.

Said boy rolled his eyes. “Fine. My mom got infected. No idea if she’s still shambling out there or not. My brother was in another state for university, and I have no idea whether he’s safe or not. My dad is and has always been a piece of shit. Happy?”

Oikawa whistled lowly, and Yamaguchi patted Tsukishima on the back soothingly. Bokuto straightened up.

“I’ll go, I suppose. I haven’t talked to my parents in years, since they disowned me for not being the daughter they birthed. ‘You can’t be a boy, Kaori, don’t be ridiculous.’ If they’re dead, awesome. Less hate in the world.” Bokuto shrugged, leaning on Akaashi’s cocoon slightly.

Kenma raised a brow. “You’re that comfortable using your deadname?”

“None of y’all would use it anyways! I’m good.” Bokuto grinned.

Akaashi wriggled out from beneath Bokuto. “I hate to be the Debby Downer, but my story’s a bit darker. I had two sisters, along with my parents, and we were fine for the first two weeks. Then the horde decided to surround the house, and only I escaped unscathed. I don’t know whether they were devoured or infected, but they’re definitely beyond saving now.”

“Ah, good old survivor’s guilt. Hear, hear.” Oikawa muttered, causing the group to look at him.

“Is this the part where you tell us about what’s-his-face?” Bokuto raised a brow, and Oikawa snorted.

“Probably should, but I’m not drunk enough for this. You still got that weird sake?”

Tetsurou nodded and went to grab it for him, and as soon as he was handed the bottle Oikawa took a long swig. “Alright, lemme tell you about Hajime Iwaizumi.”

And he did. He told them of their childhood days, of gay awakenings and awkward first kisses, of rooming together and possible proposals-all shot down the drain. Yamaguchi was crying by the end, and was being consoled by an awkward looking Tsukishima. Bokuto miraculously stayed silent.

“So...yeah. There’s my backstory.” Oikawa finalized with another large gulp from the bottle.

“Fuck, dude.” Tetsurou muttered. “That’s tough. And you’ve been dealing with that on your own for two months?”

Oikawa grinned, though it didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Yyyyup. Always been a hell of an actor, able to cover up any issues flawlessly. I deserve a damn Grammy.”

“You deserve to have your alcohol privileges revoked.” Kenma grabbed the bottle, causing Oikawa to whine indignantly.

“Fine, but you gotta go next, short stuff.” The brunette flopped back on his bed, and Kenma sighed.

“Fine. I’m an introvert, as you probably guessed, and I didn’t interact with hardly anyone besides Kuroo. Granted, I do enjoy the fact that we spend most of our time here, but I’d rather be introverted on my own terms.” He leaned his cheek on his hand. “It’s not the worst thing, though. I could be stuck without Kuroo.”

Tetsurou’s face felt like it was on fire at those words, and Bokuto whooped. Oikawa grinned, a sadistic twinkle in his eyes. “You sure you two aren’t dating?”

Tetsurou somehow managed to choke on his own spit. “No way! It’s completely platonic, there’s nothing-”

“Tetsurou, shut up.”

Kenma’s outburst completely stunned him, and he turned to the smaller boy bewildered and was met with a soft pressure on his lips and Yamaguchi’s muffled squeals in the background.

_Kenma fucking Kozume was kissing him._

It was over as quickly as it started, but Tetsurou was sure he and Kenma were matching shades of red.

“I thought you didn’t-” He started weakly, his voice cracking.

Kenma looked away shyly, and Tetsurou noted just how long his lashes were. “I denied you because I wasn’t sure of my own feelings at the time. The last thing I wanted to do was lead you on. But now...”

“...now I can safely say that I love you, Tetsurou Kuroo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQFkn4AXfqg


	10. Ladies and Gents, This is the Moment You've Waited For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There is a child in the room, watch yourself."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aight so honest to god i wasnt gonna write anything suga related for a while but depression has been kicking my ass lately so i'll put off the bitchsquad angst i have planned for at least one more chapter
> 
> hime-chan this one's for you
> 
> also at 125 kudos im gonna make a companion story to this with all of the art me and my sister made so tell me whose design you wanna see first

Natsu had struck again, it seemed.

The silver-haired man sighed before beginning to undo all of the ponytails and Hello Kitty theme hair clips. At least this was easily undoable, he mused, unlike her brother’s usual Sharpie pranks. Last time he’d done that Daichi hadn’t been able to get the weird alien off his arm for a week.

After successfully decluttering his hair and going through his (admittedly short) skincare routine, he headed to the cafeteria, pleasantly surprised to see Asahi had already whipped up breakfast for them. Noya and Tanaka were already digging in, but the others were nowhere to be seen. Likely still asleep. They had stayed up pretty late playing Monopoly, after all.

And he would have won if it weren’t for the other ex-setter. Damn Kageyama and his need to buy everything.

“Morning.” Asahi greeted, handing him a plate of scrambled eggs and a side of fruit.

“Morning, Asahi.” He smiled, taking the plate. “Thanks for making breakfast, again.”

The taller man grinned slightly, shaking his head. “You know I’m the only one who can actually cook around here.”

They both chuckled at that, remembering Yachi’s attempt at brownies from the other day, and the time Noya decided to make pancakes. Neither went well, and Asahi had spent both days fixing the burnt appliances.

After a considerably quiet breakfast (Noya and Tanaka had finished and immediately gone to the gym), he began going through his daily routine of checking the plants in the greenhouse, making sure the generator was doing fine, taking out whatever zombies were banging at the doors with Kiyoko, and cleaning up even more of the school that they now called a home.

Things had changed a lot since the collapse. The team had been at the school overnight for a training camp, but the coach and supervisor had both gone to their respective homes for the night. They woke up the next morning to find all cell networks down, and some very sketchy looking people scratching at the doors. Luckily, there was still some weak wifi left, allowing them to check the news to see what was going on. None of them had expected zombies. Since then, they’d stayed in the school, managing just fine on the overabundance of frozen meals in the cafeteria plus the different fruits and vegetables in the greenhouse. Tanaka and Noya had been visiting the self-workout area of their gym every day in order to get strong enough to “own the zombies”, as they put it. They missed the outside world, sure, but if it meant keeping them safe then they’d stay in school for years if they had to.

Natsu had been a surprise, though.

Somehow, despite being seven years old, she’d made it to the school all the way from the Hinata household, fueled only by the thought of making sure her brother was okay. When they took her in, she said that their mom was fine when she left, but who knows if that was still true. Since then, Hinata had been incredibly protective of Natsu, and rarely let her out of sight. Which no one really minded, they didn’t want an unruly child running around on her lonesome anyways. Her favorite playmate was definitely Kageyama, and she always claimed that she was going to marry him, much to his chagrin (and everyone else’s amusement).

Still, no matter what games or activities they came up with, it never stopped her from asking to go outside, and he felt his heart break a little every time he had to tell her no. They all wanted to go outside, but it simply wasn’t safe. Sure, they had makeshift weapons, but those weren’t going to cut it if they decided to leave their strong hold. But they definitely all dreamt about leaving, for different reasons.

It was a simple, tedious living, but they made do. Hold out until the cure was discovered, and society was rebuilt. Wash, rinse, repeat. Wake up, do the rounds, spend time with the others, go to bed.

He got bored of it by the third week. Four months later, he was almost tempted to try hotwiring one of the buses left in the parking lot and to just drive away. He wouldn’t actually, of course; he’d never leave his Karasuno family behind. Some days it was just really tempting.

It probably also didn’t help that tonight’s topic of discussion was places they always wanted to visit.

“You can’t tell me that the ocean wouldn’t be like the coolest place to go!” Noya defended, taking his turn in a game of UNO between him, Tanaka, Hinata and Kageyama.

Asahi shook his head from the other side of the room where he, Daichi, and Kiyoko were playing Sorry. “I’d rather go someplace a little less crowded and a lot less dangerous.”

Yachi made a noise of agreement, focusing on her drawing of Natsu while said girl played with silver locks of hair. “People ruin the fun sometimes.”

Noya scoffed, sticking his tongue out at Hinata who had plus foured him. “Okay, but also-hot people who are half dressed. Don’t get to see that every day.”

“There is a child in the room, watch yourself.” Hazel eyes stared down the ex-libero, who grinned sheepishly.

“I think the beach would be super fun! We could play sand volleyball, and make sandcastles, and eat watermelon ‘till we burst!” Hinata grinned.

“Too bad we live in the middle of the country.” Daichi sighed as Kiyoko took out another of his pieces.

Natsu paused from where she was trying to braid, pouting. “Can’t we do a road trip?”

“None of us can drive, though.” Tanaka pointed out. “Plus, even if someone knew, we don’t have a vehicle.”

“There’s the buses in the parking lot.” Kageyama frowned, drawing a card.

“Sure, but there’s no keys for them.” Tanaka laid down a card, causing Hinata to squawk indignantly.

Kiyoko pushed up her glasses. “I could try and hotwire them, but no promises.”

“No way, we couldn’t make you do that!” Noya burst out. “It’s too dangerous!”

“What’s hotwiring mean?” Natsu asked, causing her ‘client’ to smile softly.

“It’s like hacking a car. If you do it right, you can use the car without keys.” He told her.

Natsu still looked confused, but didn’t question any further as she finished her masterpiece. Daichi looked over to see what she’d done and snorted, unable to contain his laughter. “That’s a good look for you, Suga. Gonna get yourself a boyfriend with that?”

Said male simply glared. “Bet I could get a datemate easier than you could, Mr. Oblivious.”

“Oh my god, will you drop it? I get it, Michimiya liked me!” He groaned, causing Asahi to rub his back sympathetically.

Hinata looked over to see what they were talking about and burst into laughter, Noya and Tanaka eventually joining him. Natsu looked way too proud of herself for someone who almost yanked half the hair out of his head, but he couldn’t really be mad at her. He could be mad at Kiyoko, who was taking pictures with an impressive poker face and a thumbs up.

They were a chaotic family, but god did Koushi Sugawara love them to death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md6dRPQc-G0


	11. Hooked on a Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Trouble in paradise, it seems."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SWGDKFF has a Tumblr! I'll be using it mostly to post artwork and chapter updates, but you're absolutely welcome to ask questions and give feedback there! Check it out here: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/raceyatothemoon

It’d been six months since the collapse, and Koutarou had finally run out of hair gel. To be fair, since he didn’t shower daily any more, he could make a day’s worth of gel last at least three days. It wouldn’t be that bad, except for the fact that his hair had grown quite a bit and now hung over his eyes. Not pleasant.

He stared at himself in the mirror, trying to figure out what to do with his hair while Oikawa finished showering behind him. Maybe he could steal Oikawa’s hairspray? No, it didn’t have enough hold, his spikes would be drooping within the hour. Maybe he could ask someone to cut it? Oikawa did have a knife, but that probably wouldn’t end well. Maybe he just needed to raid a hair salon or something. Until then, he decided, he’d just tie it back in a stubby ponytail. Surely Kenma had left a loop somewhere around here...

As Koutarou was rooting through the cabinet, Oikawa had finished his shower and had pulled back the curtain to reveal the bottom half of Koutarou sticking out to the under-sink cabinet. At least the brunette was desensitized to seeing the other naked by this point.

“Bo-chan, did you forget pants existed before doing...whatever you’re doing?” He teased, beginning to towel off.

Koutarou felt his face heat up as he remembered the position he was in, and quickly removed himself from the cabinet, hair tie in hand. “Maybe I did that on purpose. You’re always telling me what a nice ass I have.”

Oikawa snickered, gently drying his hair. “Sure, that’s it. What were you doing in there, anyways? Looking for hair gel?”

Koutarou shook his head, wincing slightly when a silver-black lock hit him in the eye. “Hair tie.”

Oikawa raised a brow, picking up a chunk of his hair and threading his fingers through gently. “It’s gotten long.”

“I know!” Koutarou groaned. “Even if there were gel left, my spikes would look stupid!”

“The spikes started looking stupid a while ago, Bo-chan.” The brunette snickered, dropping his hair and going to wash his face.

Koutarou pouted. The spikes made him look cool, when they weren’t a foot long. Now he just had limp hair in desperate need of a redye.

“Maybe one of the others can help you style it or something.” Oikawa offered, scrubbing at his cheeks.

“Yeah, I guess.” Koutarou conceded, getting up and beginning to dress himself.

“No way, dude. I have no idea how hair works.” Kuroo admitted.

Koutarou slumped. “You think the others know how to do hair?”

Kenma looked up from where he was playing Animal Crossing on Kuroo’s lap. “Akaashi might know a thing or two. He braids my hair sometimes.”

“Does he really?” Koutarou and Kuroo asked in unison.

Kenma nodded. “He had two sisters, remember? He probably learned from them.”

“Akaashi it is!” Koutarou declared, setting off for said boy’s room.

On the trip there, he reflected on how close he’d gotten to the other boy since he’d joined. He still insisted on calling him Bokuto-san, which was disappointing, but he also made Koutarou breakfast about once a week. Well, technically, Akaashi made the entire team breakfast once a week, but semantics. At one point, Akaashi had insisted they make a trip to his old base so he could grab some supplies, and the team had gained a couple of strawberry plants that they kept in a fenced-off portion of the “front yard”. Akaashi had also grabbed his laptop, and when the two of them were bored they binged whatever anime was on his laptop. Koutarou enjoyed those binge parties, as it gave him an excuse to kind-of-maybe cuddle the smaller boy. He’d also learned more about Akaashi’s past, like how he’d been on track to receive an English degree in university and how his two sisters, Usagi and Sakura, were both musically talented. Akaashi’s eyes when he talked about the two of them always watered a little, but he sounded so proud of them whenever he talked about their achievements.

On the downside, though, was the fact that Akaashi was the only one he hadn’t shared a shower with. The dark-haired boy only showered late at night, and if Koutarou was lucky enough to still be awake he found the door locked. When he complained about it to Kuroo and Oikawa, they had just looked at each other before bursting into laughter. Some friends he had.

Koutarou approached the shelter door with Akaashi’s name marked in turquoise paint, something Kuroo had picked up to trade but they ended up using. He raised his hand to knock when Akaashi’s voice greeted his ears, but it wasn’t his normal composed tone.

_No, it was a goddamn moan._

Koutarou froze, his brain going a million miles per hour. Did he hear that right? Was someone else in there with him? What kind of expressions was he making? What was going on in there?

His thoughts were abruptly cut off with another moan, this one more drawn out. Koutarou desperately wished there was some sort of peep hole on the door. Not because he was a peeping pervert, of course! He just wanted to see if anyone else was in there. He pressed his ear to the door, hoping to hear more, and wasn’t disappointed when Akaashi let out a muffled moan of someone’s name.

Not just someone’s name. _His._

He could feel his face burning, and he was almost tempted to open the door when he realized that if Akaashi knew he was listening he’d gut him like a fish. Wet boxers and raging libido aside, he needed to leave. And yet he couldn’t get his feet to move. A soft whimper from the other side of the door kickstarted his feet, and he scrambled to his room to calm himself down (read-maybe rub one out).

He didn’t count on how loud he was running away, and despite the other boy’s activities, was still heard.

Dinner that night was awkward, to say the least.

Usually Koutarou spent the entire time engaging in conversation with Akaashi while Tsukishima sneered at him to “eat with his mouth closed, you heathen”, but he couldn’t bring himself to even look Akaashi in the eye without remembering the sinful way he’d whimpered his name. Kuroo eyed him, but didn’t say anything. Unfortunately, Oikawa didn’t have that same courtesy (or a filter).

“Alright, what’s going on.” The brunette sat back in his chair, surveying the table. “No one’s said a word this entire meal.”

“That’s because we’re eating.” Yamaguchi pointed out.

Oikawa shook his head, bangs falling back into place perfectly. “Bo-chan, usually you’re unable to shut up. What happened.”

Koutarou bit his lip, pushing his food around on the cracked plate. “Nothing’s wrong. I just don’t have anything to talk about today.”

“Bullshit.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “You always have something to talk about.”

Koutarou felt Akaashi’s piercing gaze on him, and quickly shoved food in his mouth before he could say anything stupid. Or, y’know, anything in general. Oikawa looked between the two before grinning.

“Trouble in paradise, it seems.” He concluded, causing Koutarou to slightly choke on his food and Akaashi to glare at him.

“We were never dating, Oikawa-san.” He said, moving to stop Koutarou from choking.

_Was that the hand he used to get himself off thumping his back?_

_Wait, no. Brain, shut up._

As Koutarou regained his ability to breathe, Kuroo smirked at the two. “Could’ve fooled me. Bo practically worships the ground you walk on.”

Koutarou sent his worst glare at the taller boy, who shrugged sheepishly until Kenma reached over and poked him in the side with his fork. Oikawa was hiding his snickers behind his hand, while Tsukishima looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. Yamaguchi at least looked sympathetic, and Akaashi...

...was bright red?

That was new.

Akaashi stood up abruptly, grabbing Koutarou and dragging him off. He sputtered, not expecting that, but followed nonetheless. Maybe he was mad at him and needed to get his anger out by punching him? Yeah, that was probably it.

Akaashi pulled Koutarou into his room and quickly shut the door before whirling around to face him. “My apologies for cutting your dinner short, but I need to talk to you about what you may or may not have heard.”

Koutarou gulped. “Listen, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on you getting off, promise!”

Akaashi raised a brow. “How long did you stand there?”

“Maybe a minute or so.” He admitted, scratching the back of his neck and grimacing at the long hair there. “I just had a question, but then I heard...that...and I froze up a bit before getting the heck out of dodge.”

Akaashi’s worried expression faltered a bit. “Maybe I overreacted a little.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely overreacting! I didn’t hear any specifics, or anyone else there, and I definitely didn’t hear any names!” Dammit Koutarou, learn to shut up.

Akaashi leveled him with a stare before burying his face in his hands and groaning. “You heard me call your name. You’re a terrible liar, Bokuto-san.”

Koutarou slumped. “Yeah, okay, I did. And I honestly don’t know what to do with that information.”

Akaashi sat down on his bed, patting next to him for Koutarou to sit. The taller boy joined him, finally looking Akaashi in the eye to see just how scared he was. It made sense, he was adamant about not getting too attached to anyone. And yet...

“So what exactly do you feel for me?” Koutarou asked, his voice coming out a lot softer than he intended.

Akaashi bit his lip, drawing Koutarou’s eyes instantly. “I wouldn’t say it’s love. It’ll be years before I’ll feel love again, probably. But I am fond of you, Bokuto-san.”

Koutarou perked up a little at this. And here he thought Akaashi saw him as a pain in the ass! “I like you a lot too, Akaashi!”

“I know. You’re also not subtle. But it’s cute.” Akaashi smiled softly, gently laying his hand on top of Koutarou’s.

Koutarou felt his face heat up. Why is it that he could handle advances from literally anyone else but when it came to Akaashi he turned into a pile of goo?

Oh right, feelings.

“Does that make us boyfriends then?” He asked, watching the other’s face carefully.

Akaashi thought about it for a second before nodding. “I would like that a lot.”

Koutarou grinned before pulling the smaller boy into a hug, causing him to jump slightly in surprise. After a beat or two, Akaashi wrapped his arms around Koutarou’s middle, burying his face into the crook of his neck.

Call him gay, but Akaashi fit perfectly in his arms. And he smelled good, which is always a good thing.

After a minute, Akaashi pulled away with a fond smile. “We should probably get back to dinner, the others will start getting worried soon.”

Koutarou nodded, standing up and offering Akaashi a hand to help him up. The dark-haired boy took it with a soft blush, standing up and intertwining their fingers. Together they walked back to the table in comfortable silence, both afraid the other would hear their wild heartbeat.

How unfortunate that everything would come crashing down a week later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrI-UBIB8Jk


	12. As The World Caves In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm gonna third wheel you guys now and pretend I'm not lonely as hell."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm putting the song at the beginning because it is VITAL you have this play on loop while you read this chapter
> 
> y'all knew it was too good for too long
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfMvYxFVDi0

The day Koutarou’s world ended started pretty well, in all fairness.

He and Akaashi had stayed up late watching some skating anime and cuddling (and maybe making out a bit-sorry Viktor and Yuuri), and Koutarou had the wonderful wakeup of Akaashi’s face right by his. He smiled fondly, running a hand through the other boy’s curls, thanking whatever god was out there that he was lucky enough to have this boy by his side.

Not just because he was hot, though that was definitely a bonus.

Akaashi’s face suddenly scrunched up, meaning he was awake, and Koutarou snorted. This boy would be the death of him. Slowly teal eyes began to blink open, focusing on the body in front of him. “Morning, sleeping beauty.”

Akaashi reached up and ran a hand through Koutarou’s hair, unhindered by tangles or hair ties. “Good morning, Bokuto-san.”

Koutarou leaned in for a good morning kiss, but was stopped by Akaashi’s hand covering his mouth. “Morning breath. I refuse to kiss you until you brush your teeth.”

Koutarou stuck out his lower lip, pouting. “But that means getting up and leaving you, and I don’t wanna do that.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Akaashi stated before pressing a kiss to Koutarou’s cheek.

Eventually the two boys got up, making their way to the bathroom to get themselves dressed and ready. While Koutarou busied himself with brushing his teeth, Akaashi began fixing his curls, wincing at the flat side where he slept on it. Koutarou still thought he was gorgeous, but then again, he was biased.

After making themselves presentable, they made their way to the main room hand in hand. Koutarou lifted the door to reveal Kuroo and Tsukishima poring over a map at the table while Kenma, Oikawa and Yamaguchi were in the corner, watching Kenma play.

“Morning, Bo-chan!” Oikawa greeted with a wave, eyeing their joined hands.

“Someone had fun last night.” Kuroo teased, and Koutarou realized with a start that his neck was likely sporting hickeys.

Akaashi flushed, averting his eyes. “It’s not like that. We didn’t actually do anything...”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “Sure you didn’t.”

“I would never disrespect Akaashi’s boundaries like that!” Koutarou insisted.

“Whatever you say, Bo. Go ahead and eat up, we’re going a little out of our way today.” Kuroo pointed to where the food stash was.

Akaashi raised a brow, grabbing a can of fruit and popping it open. “What for?”

“Yaku told me there’s a small survivor camp about an hour away. I wanted to check it out, see what they’ve got.” Kuroo turned back to the map, tracing something with his finger.

Yamaguchi turned to them. “We’re all going, right?”

Oikawa nodded. “It’ll be a good family bonding experience!”

“I’d rather not be related to any of you, thank you very much.” Tsukishima muttered. “Also, Kuroo, there’s going to be way too many zombies on the main road, we can’t run them all over.”

Koutarou shrugged before grabbing something to eat, sitting at the table and watching Kuroo and Tsukishima plot their route, Akaashi adding a couple of pointers every once in a while.

None of them could have planned for what awaited them.

A half hour of Oikawa singing pop songs loudly and badly later, the seven of them finally arrived at the survivor camp, solely marked by a large wooden sign that said “survivors here”. Good thing zombies couldn’t read.

Koutarou looked around, trying to find a gate through all the chain link fence, but there was no gate to be found. After a bit of struggle with jumping the fence, they made their way to where a bunch of tents had been set up. Kuroo immediately made his way to where a very familiar duo stood, bickering. Akaashi raised a brow, turning to Koutarou.

“Who are those two?” He asked just as Kuroo earned himself a kick in the shin from Yaku.

Koutarou snorted at the noise he made. “The taller one is Lev Haiba, and the shorter one is Morisuke Yaku. They’re our trade partners. Supposedly Kuroo and Kenma know them from before the collapse.”

Kenma looked over when he heard his name. “Trust me, I wish I didn’t know Lev.”

“He can’t be that bad.” Akaashi watched as the three conversed.

“He’s way too high maintenance. I don’t know how Yaku puts up with him.” Kenma shuddered. “Plus, he’s dumb as a box of rocks.”

Akaashi made a noise of understanding before dragging Koutarou to where they had a table full of fresh produce. Small alarms sounded in the back of Koutarou’s mind, but he brushed it off as paranoia.

They grabbed a small basket of raspberries and took turns feeding each other, wandering around to see what all was there. There were a lot of people talking and trading, and Koutarou saw Tsukishima and Yamaguchi trading some clothes for a handgun and ammo.

Oikawa eventually caught up to them, face slightly paler than normal. Akaashi raised a brow. “Is everything alright, Oikawa-san?”

“Absolutely not.” Oikawa huffed. “That damn Shiratorizawa group is here.”

Suddenly, Koutarou realized why he had been so alarmed. The crates were the same ones he’d seen Ushijima use. Beside him, Akaashi tilted his head, adorably confused. “Shiratorizawa?”

Oikawa nodded. “I have a bad history with them, doesn’t help that the last time I saw any of them I had a mental breakdown.”

Akaashi winced, laying a hand on the brunette’s shoulder sympathetically. Oikawa shrugged, and stole the last of the raspberries from the basket, much to Koutarou’s chagrin. “I’m gonna third wheel you guys now and pretend I’m not lonely as hell.”

“That’s fair.” Koutarou admitted.

“Maybe we should find you someone to flirt with that isn’t taken, Oikawa-san.” Akaashi deadpanned, causing said boy to laugh.

The three of them spent a couple hours just exploring everything the camp had to offer. It was almost like a bizarre farmer’s market, Koutarou mused. There was someone there giving haircuts for free, and he almost got one before remembering he was out of hair gel. Stubby ponytail it was. Oikawa and Akaashi took advantage of it though, and Koutarou spent five minutes pouting over the loss of Akaashi’s fluffy curls.

It hadn’t been that much of a difference, but it was the principal of the thing.

They were just about to go back to the others when some sort of siren sounded, causing all three of them to jump. Looking around, Koutarou saw some of the stall owners pull out some form of weapons, and he felt his stomach drop. There was no way zombies got through the fence.

Of course, the universe proved him wrong, as once glance showed that a large horde of zombies had simply pushed at the fence until it gave in.

Oikawa swore loudly before heading for where the firearms were, having left his crossbow behind, while Akaashi unsheathed his katanas and Koutarou pulled his pipe out of the makeshift harness he’d crafted out of some belts.

Kuroo approached them with Kenma, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi in tow. Kuroo had already pulled out his bat, while Tsukishima was adjusting a set of brass knuckles and Yamaguchi was loading the handgun from earlier. The only one without a weapon was Kenma, who was tapping away on the tablet, likely checking the feed from the car cameras. “We’re busting through. Get to the car. That’s your only priority.” Kuroo told them, focusing on the incoming horde already starting to be struck down by others at the camp.

Oikawa soon joined them, a brand new crossbow and quiver in hand, and what looked like some sort of sniper rifle slung on his back. Kuroo nodded, and Koutarou quickly sprung into action, Akaashi and Kuroo close behind. Tsukishima had put himself on Kenma Defense Duty, with Oikawa and Yamaguchi getting rid of enemies from behind when they could.

Koutarou quickly found himself surrounded despite feeling like he was taking out a dozen zombies a second. He gritted his teeth and swung his pipe at another’s head, barely flinching at the squelching noise before focusing on the next one in front of him. After taking that one out and kicking one in the chest that was sneaking up behind him, he quickly flicked his head up to see if he could spot his companions over the sea of undead.

There was Tsukishima, punching a zombie straight into another and knocking a few down. Yamaguchi was next to him. Koutarou slapped a few away and turned to look behind him towards the exit and the way to their getaway car. He could see Kenma slipping through the ripped up fence, Kuroo hovering protectively in front of him.

Something nudged his ankle and he kicked out on reflex, catching a zombie in the nose and sending it sprawling. _Where was_ -

“Bo-chan.” Oikawa appeared from behind a collapsing zombie, following its descent with his eyes and swallowing hard. He looked extremely pale, almost green, and his signature smirk was nowhere to be found. For a second Koutarou just blinked at his friend’s haggard complexion, but quickly understood his discomfort and offered him a big grin.

“’Sup Oikawa. Ya good there? I can stay with you if you need it.” He bashed a zombie over the head that was reaching for the stricken boy and Oikawa flinched hard to the side.

“No it’s- it’s not that. Though I honestly would appreciate it.” He plastered on a shaky smile. It vanished almost as soon as it had showed up. “It’s Akaashi.”

Koutarou’s grin fell. He felt an odd sense of foreboding and denial. Nothing could happen to Akaashi. He survived on his own for so long, so he must be able to get out of any situation… _right?_

“What about him, Oikawa.” He raised his head up to scout over the horde, looking for the boy who he’d grown so close to.

“I can’t find him. He was-” The brunet’s voice cracked. His hands were shaking badly, Koutarou noted. Icy dread made its way down his spine. “He was right next to me and I can’t find him. I was keeping tabs on everyone and suddenly he was just gone. And if something happens to him I’m so so sorry because it’s all my fault and I fucked up and-”

“Oikawa!” Koutarou barked. “Stop panicking so much. He’s probably fine, help me find him.”

But he can’t deny that he’s feeling the panic, too. Where was his boyfriend? _What if he really was in danger?!_

Oikawa shakily nodded next to him, wiping something that looked suspiciously like tears off his face. He turned to look over the stalls as Koutarou stood on his tip-toes, hoping to catch a glimpse of pretty black hair or the flash of katanas. And he was mostly unsuccessful until-

There!

Koutarou wasted no time in grabbing Oikawa by the elbow and yanking him along, bashing his way through the mass of dead flesh to get to Akaashi. He busted his way through a crumbling wall of wood and forced himself into the clearing he’d seen his boyfriend standing in. And Akaashi was certainly still there.

Stuck and cornered by just about every zombie in the whole goddamn city.

“Holy fuck, Bokuto.” Oikawa was next to him, hands like a vice grip on Koutarou’s forearm.

He wrenched his arm free, not paying his companion any heed as he raced forward, and called out with all the volume his straining lungs could manage.

“Akaashi!” He bashed one, two, three zombies and kicked another out of his way. There was no way this was actually happening.

“Bokuto-san!” He heard the slice of katanas through flesh and gunshots next to him as Oikawa joined in on the futile attempt to thin the horde. Akaashi’s voice sounded panicked and desperate. Not at all like the usual monotone he spoke with.

Koutarou was breathing heavily, heart punching its way through his chest as he was converged on by the undead on three sides. Oikawa stopped him from throwing himself into what was likely suicide by wrapping a lean arm around his waist and pulling, _hard_.

He let out a strangled, manic noise as he caught sight of Akaashi through a gap in the writhing wall in front of him.

“Koutarou.”

Though he could barely hear the trapped boy’s voice from where he stood almost 50 feet away, he could clearly read his lips. Lips that he’d kissed so many times in the past week, which had undoubtedly been the happiest one of his life since this whole apocalypse thing started.

He casted a quick glance at Oikawa, who was holding him back with an immovable grasp on his torso. The normally smiling boy’s face was limp in the worst look of horror Koutarou’d ever seen. He was sure that it was reflected on his own face as well. But the other boy’s eyes were far away, almost unseeing of the scene in front of him, tears starting to pour. Almost as if he was reliving a moment just like this from his own past.

And somehow, it was this sight that clicked everything together for Koutarou. He knew what had happened to Iwaizumi.

And now it was going to happen to Akaashi, too.

He heard a strained cry over the snarling of the undead, and forced himself to tear his eyes away from his frozen friend. He couldn’t even see his boyfriend anymore at this point.

Somehow zombies were still entering the area, all seeming to focus on the singular male at the center, as if operating under a hive mind. It was miraculous that they didn’t even seem to notice Koutarou and Oikawa’s presence anymore.

Or, at least, it would be miraculous if the only thing they were noticing was the fucking love of Koutarou’s life.

In a last spurt of fighting energy, he clumsily scrabbled against Oikawa’s hold. But it did nothing. It would accomplish nothing even if he had escaped. They both knew that. But it still seeped deep into his bones, into his soul- the feeling of helplessness as he watched the guy he loved supposedly get mobbed and ripped apart. That’s what he assumed was happening behind his blocked view, anyways.

He gave up on struggling and went slack in his friend’s arms.

He had to accept what was happening.

Tears finally welled up in his wide, wide eyes, and he opened his mouth to yell one last thing, unsure if Akaashi would even be able to hear him or if he was already gone. He screamed it from the bottom of his heart, voice hoarse and cracking-

“I LOVE YOU, KEIJI!”

And then he was sobbing, wailing, screaming, or maybe no sound was actually coming out of his mouth at all- he couldn’t hear, couldn’t feel Oikawa’s arms on him, couldn’t stand, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t handle the way his heart was being absolutely crushed by this new feeling of loss.

Vaguely, he registered the zombies turning to face the two stranded boys. As if finding new targets now that their old one was taken care of. So was he really gone, then?

He felt miles away in that moment, watching through blurry eyes as the zombies began shambling their way towards him and Oikawa. He couldn’t get his legs to stand. Oikawa had shrunken down with him, the two holding onto each other like it was the only way to keep themselves from floating away from the moment.

It was like they’d both just shut down. Were they going to die, too?

Maybe.

Suddenly, wide green eyes were only a foot away from his own. His heart jumped at the thought that somehow Akaashi’d made it and was here with them, but as he blinked away his tears, Koutarou realized they weren’t dark enough and carried too much emotion.

“You guys need to get out of here. Kuroo’s calling for you,” Lev said. “What happened?”

All he gave in return to the lanky boy’s question was a shake of the head.

Lev’s eyes grew round with concern and he shared a glance with his partner- oh, Yaku was there, too. The duo pulled Koutarou and Oikawa onto their feet and pushed them along, probably towards Kuroo and the others. He couldn’t really tell. His head felt full of fog. He couldn’t think straight.

He looked up and they were at the entrance somehow. Huh, that was funny. Somehow he dissociated the entire journey back. There was Kuroo, face hardening with worry as he took in the sorry state of the two boys being dragged forward.

“What the hell happened?” Kuroo asked, voice wavering to betray his panic.

Koutarou finally cleared his head enough to respond.

“Akaashi’s gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cry in the comments or come yell at me on tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/raceyatothemoon


	13. Don't Turn Away Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There went his appetite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all really in denial about akaashi huh?

Tetsurou had to admit, the group was a sight for sore eyes.

On the way back from the shit storm of a survivors camp, no one had spoken. Bokuto had simply laid his head on Oikawa’s shoulder and stared off into space while the brunette absentmindedly ran a hand through salt and pepper locks, tears on both of their faces. Yamaguchi looked on the verge of breakdown as well, and if it weren’t for Tsukishima holding his hand he probably would have. Kenma seemed to be playing a game, but Tetsurou knew he was looking through the screen and disassociating in an attempt to not show emotions. Tetsurou hadn’t broken down yet, but he was kind of putting off depression to drive them back safely. Yaku and Lev were close behind with plans to stay the night with them, though that had been decided before shit went down.

As Tetsurou began moving all of their “purchases” into the shelter, he heard a loud thump from down the hall, almost as if someone had run into the door. Fearing the worst, he grabbed the nearest blunt object and headed to the source of the noise, only to find Bokuto in front of the door to what used to be Akaashi’s room, a bright red mark on his forehead. He put down what he was holding and knelt next to Bokuto, not making physical contact just yet.

“Bo. Hey.” He called softly, not getting any response from the other. “Talk to me.”

Slowly Bokuto’s eyes moved to Tetsurou, and he noted with a pang that their usual golden shine had dimmed, making his eyes almost lifeless. “He’s gone.”

Tetsurou winced. Blunt Bokuto was never a good sign. “I know. I’m sorry. I...”

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off by a lump in his throat and hot tears finally falling, and he furiously wiped them away. “I should’ve been there. I could’ve helped. I’m so fucking sorry, Bokuto.”

Bokuto leaned forward, and the two boys wrapped their arms around each other, sobbing into each other’s shoulders.

And if Yaku found them later with the rest of the squad having themselves a cuddle-and-cry session, that’s nobody’s business but theirs.

One week later found them still pretty mopey. And Tetsurou was kind of done with it.

“Alright, mothers and fuckers. We’re moving.” He announced one day, tossing a map on the table.

Tsukishima raised a brow before looking at the map. “LA? Really?”

“Hollywood, to be exact. I’ve never been, since it’s so expensive, so now we’re going.” Tetsurou flopped in his seat.

“Isn’t the appeal the celebrities?” Kenma questioned, fiddling with something on his tablet.

Tetsurou grinned at his boyfriend, who just gave him a flat stare. “Sure, but who else can say they broke into Kim Kardashian’s mansion and trashed the place?”

Yamaguchi peered at the map around Tsukishima’s shoulder. “If we’re going to LA, why is there a path highlighted across the southern border?”

“Please don’t tell me it’s a road trip.” Tsukishima glared.

“Not immediately.” Tetsurou admitted. “I figure we go to LA, pick our new place, set up our stuff, get the place armed, all the good shit. And THEN we road trip.”

Oikawa blinked. “Why do you have so many stops in Texas?”

“Big state. Lots to see. Plus, I wanna see if there are any horses there so I can teach ‘em to trample zombies.” Tetsurou smirked, causing Kenma to groan.

“Please tell me we’re going to DisneyWorld.” Yamaguchi pleaded, giving him puppy dog eyes.

Tetsurou snorted. “Duh, of course we’re going to Disney. Happiest place on earth. And quite frankly, we could use some of that happiness.”

At that, they all turned to Bokuto, who hadn’t fully snapped out of it. To be fair, no one expected him to, but Tetsurou knew if it kept up much longer he’d likely get himself killed. Said boy looked up slowly from where he was fiddling with his hoodie strings, blank-faced as usual. He nodded, still only talking when necessary, and Tetsurou took that as a sign that everyone was on board. “Go pack what you wanna keep. We can’t take everything, so be careful.”

Two and a half hours later found them driving through LA. And through zombies, but that was normal. They’d left most of the superficial things behind, like Tsukishima’s dinosaur plushies and Bokuto’s anime figurines (except for one, the one that Akaashi had pointed out the first time he was there). The car was a little packed, but it wasn’t as bad as they thought it’d be since Yaku had agreed to lend them their van for the move. Tetsurou had nominated Kenma for shotgun, while the other four crammed in the backseat. Originally the plan was to have Oikawa on Bokuto’s lap, but that had changed and the brunette ended up laying across the floorboards. Soft [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEZIYGN5HIo&list=RDMM0hAa8n7B400&index=8) flowed from the speakers as they passed by multiple crumbled buildings, a lot of graffiti, and quite a few zombies. At least if they needed gas there were a ton of abandoned cars and old gas stations to siphon from, but they really needed to figure out a second source of fuel.

He turned to Kenma to pitch the idea only to find the younger boy nervously biting his nails. “You okay, kitten?”

Kenma jolted, a faint pink rising to his face at the nickname. “I may have done something stupid.”

“I doubt it, but what’d you do?” Tetsurou faced the road again.

“I left a note in the main room saying where we were for any survivors. No exact address, of course, but I did write that we were going to LA.” Kenma confessed, pulling his hoodie sleeves over his hands to keep him from biting any more.

Tetsurou raised a brow. “Why?”

Kenma bit his lip. “I don’t really know. But I just got this gut feeling that I should leave it.”

“Fair enough.” Tetsurou conceded as Oikawa sat up and poked his head in between them.

“If fucking Ushiwaka starts stalking me again because of that note I’m breaking your DS.” He threatened.

Kenma gulped, shrinking in his seat as Tetsurou smacked Oikawa upside the head. “There will be none of that, Ushijima or no Ushijima.”

Oikawa let out a whine, rubbing where he’d been hit, but sunk back to the floorboards again. Tetsurou looked to Kenma again.

“You did a good thing.” He reassured the smaller boy, running a hand through brown-blonde locks.

Kenma looked down at his lap, and Tetsurou could see a small smile bloom on his boyfriend’s face.

_Who allowed him to be this damn cute?_

Halfway across the country, things were going to shit at your local Karasuno.

They were beginning to run out of supplies, and Daichi still refused to send people out for supply runs, stating it was too dangerous. Good thing Koushi was bad at listening to orders.

He’d grabbed one of the bats in the gym closet for defense, and had a bag filled with possible necessities. He couldn’t do much about the clothes, seeing as he didn’t have much else, so track jacket and sweats it was. He got to the doors before pausing, debating taking someone else, but ultimately decided against it. Most of them would go straight to Daichi, and those who wouldn’t would blow his stealth cover.

Koushi slipped out the doors right as the sun was beginning to peek out, thankful that the horde had stopped the daily routine of banging at the entrance a while back. He racked his brain for the best place to loot before ultimately deciding on the convenience store down the street. Chances were good it’d been ransacked already, but it was worth checking.

As he walked down the street he started making a mental note of all the things he needed to get. Food was always needed, of course. New clothes would be nice. Actual weapons wouldn’t hurt, but that wasn’t a necessity just yet. Hinata had been complaining about running out of soap and deodorant, and while hygiene wasn’t vital in the apocalypse Koushi knew first-hand how bad those boys could smell. No thank you.

Of course, this was all assuming Daichi didn’t kill him when he found out.

Koushi shuddered as he pushed open the door to the convenience store, the bell startlingly loud. Bat in hand, he made his way through the aisles, making sure there wasn’t anyone there. After making his way through the store and seeing no sign of life or afterlife, he relaxed and began taking stock of the situation. Surprisingly, the shelves were still mostly full, but some of the food was definitely beyond salvaging, like the pastries and sandwiches. Noya and Tanaka would be thrilled by the amount of potato chips he brought back-wait.

How the hell was he going to get all this back.

Koushi smacked his forehead, internally groaning at the oversight. He didn’t have a vehicle of any sort, and there was only so much he’d be able to put in his bag. Maybe there was one of those rolling carts somewhere, and some empty boxes?

He ventured into the back room, finding exactly what he needed-plus a hooded figure. It didn’t seem to have noticed him, but Koushi gripped his bat tighter all the same, cold sweat rolling down the back of his neck. He couldn’t tell whether it was a zombie or someone still human from where he was, but as he approached he could see they weren’t breathing. Koushi brought the bat down in the middle of their head with a sickening crack and watched in horror as said head rolled off of the neck, thankfully landing face down.

There went his appetite.

Koushi shoved the corpse to the corner with a grimace before grabbing what he needed and was about to leave when the glint of something on the wall caught his eye. Upon further investigation, it was a key, but what it led to Koushi was determined to find out. He grabbed it and looked around, not finding anything the key would fit into. Perhaps the employee-only room?

After wheeling out the cart and boxes to the main area, he turned his attention to the employee room, cracking open the door and peeking inside. It was devoid of pretty much everything, except a spare uniform on a table and a rather large lockbox under said table. Koushi crouched, examining it before using the key he found to open the safe, finding a small treasure trove.

He pushed the stacks of money and legal documents to the side, reaching for the pocket taser. Score.

He pocketed the taser before heading back to the main area, grabbing everything of value he could get and stuffing it into the boxes. It took a while to get it all, and Koushi’s back hurt like a bitch, but it was worth it for vital supplies. After doing one last sweep around the store to make sure he didn’t miss everything, he began pushing the cart back to the school.

Hopefully Daichi didn’t kill him.


	14. Guess I'm Just a Playdate to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You ever seen Ouran High School Host Club?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry bout the lack of chapter last week, i needed to take some time and figure out where to go with this story. instead, i posted Moonlight Densetsu, a significantly less angsty oisuga fic where i don't kill off boyfriends left and right
> 
> also can i just say im so goddamn thankful for each and every one of my fans? y'all are great and are the reason i keep writing, so thank you for being amazing
> 
> anyway here's wonderwa-i mean suga

Koushi wasn’t dead yet.

In fact, when Daichi had found out (through Natsu, the little sneak), he’d just sighed before admitting that someone had to start going out to get supplies, as much as he hated it. He had requested that the next time he went out he brought a buddy, and Koushi had agreed easily. It’d be easier to get supplies back with an extra set of hands anyways, and Koushi worked well with everyone.

A week later found Koushi getting ready for another supply run, debating who to take. He’d decided on an old Walmart this time, since they could easily get whatever they needed in one go (hopefully). He was leaning towards Kiyoko, knowing they had the best battlefield chemistry, but Kageyama and/or Hinata was probably a good bet too. They’d been restless for a while, and getting out into the world again would probably do them good.

A soft knock at the doorframe snapped him out of his thoughts, and he turned to find Yachi standing there, a small box in hand. “Did you need something?”

“Kind of?” She stepped in, holding the box out to him. “I found these and I figured you’d need them.”

Koushi raised a brow and opened the box to reveal a multitude of things. There were about five grey hair ties, a couple of bobby pins, and a ring of keys inside. “I get the hair stuff, but what are the keys for?”

“I think they go to one of the buses outside. Tanaka found them, actually, but gave them to me so they wouldn’t be lost.”

Koushi stared for a second at her. “When did he find them?”

Yachi waved her hands around rapidly, panicking. “Yesterday! I promise we weren’t hiding them or anything, I swear!”

“I know you weren’t. I’m just wondering how it took us six months to find these.” Koushi snorted, setting the box down and starting to tie his hair up.

Yachi sighed in relief as Koushi pinned his bangs out of his face. “Is there anything you want me to try and get you while I’m out?”

She thought for a bit, before turning pink and looking away. Koushi raised a brow before realizing what probably got her like that.

“If you need feminine hygiene products, just tell me.” He shrugged, causing Yachi to squeak.

“Y-you’re so casual about it!” She stammered. “Aren’t guys usually grossed out by that kind of thing?”

He snorted. “Usually. But I grew up in a house of all women, so it’s not really taboo for me.”

Yachi made a noise of understanding as Koushi checked his bag, making sure everything was in there. “Could you also see if you can find some soft blankets? Oh, and new clothes-I’m not picky about what they are.”

“Absolutely.” Koushi smiled at the small girl, who offered a tentative smile back.

As they walked to the cafeteria together, Yachi spoke up again. “Who are you taking with you?”

“I’m debating between Kiyoko, Kageyama and Hinata.” Koushi admitted. “Who do you think is the best bet?”

Yachi hummed. “Honestly? I think you should take all three. You and Kiyoko are kind of a power duo, and so are Kageyama and Hinata. Plus, the Walmart is big and you’ll be bringing back a lot, so it’ll be helpful to have four people.”

He nodded. Sure, it was more people than Daichi said, but the haul was looking to be pretty big. Besides, they could all handle themselves. Kageyama had managed to find a steel pole and taught himself how to fight using that (while griping about how he wanted a blade), and Hinata had got bored and hammered a bunch of nails through the end of a bat. Kiyoko had her bow and arrows and was deadly accurate, even with a moving target, and Koushi had the tazer now. Not that he knew how to use it, but it was nice to have.

He shook himself out his thoughts and went to go get his teammates as Yachi headed for the greenhouse.

The Walmart was not what they expected. For one, there was a huge pile of corpses in the parking lot, and no zombies to be found inside. There was also someone standing at the entrance with a machine gun.

“Wandering survivors?” He questioned, observing the group of four.

“Not really.” Koushi admitted, stepping forward as de facto leader. “We’ve been holed up in a school since the collapse and we’re just now venturing out.”

The guy stared for a bit before shrugging. “At least you ran into us and not some other group who’d kill you without a second thought. Lemme take you to the captain, he’ll help you out.”

Kageyama and Hinata exchanged a very confused glance, and Kiyoko put a hand on Koushi’s shoulder. “Are you sure this is safe?”

“Not really, but hang tight and we’ll see what’s what.” Koushi said as the guy led them into the Walmart, through winding aisles still fairly full.

Eventually they approached a very large structure made of soda twelve-packs and toilet paper, and sitting on a throne of cheap beer was a male, about their age, with a blonde undercut and a shit-eating grin. He passed over Kageyama and Hinata briefly, and lingered a bit on Kiyoko before his eyes met Koushi’s. The silver-haired male shivered at the intensity of his gaze, not sure if he should be freaked out or not.

“Welcome to the new Johzenji, travelers. What can I do for ya?” He asked, reclining back on his throne.

Koushi stepped forward. “We just wanted supplies. If this place is occupied, we’ll gladly look elsewhere.”

The blonde tsked, shaking his head. “First off, you’re way too formal. We aren’t gonna kill ya. Second of all, whaddaya need?”

“A lot.” Koushi admitted. “And we don’t have much of anything to trade.”

The blonde stood up, making his way over to him, simply observing him. Koushi could feel cold sweat roll down the back of his neck as his arms were picked up and examined and his hair was messed with. The blonde stepped back, putting a hand on his chin. “I’ll let ya take whatever ya want, on one condition.”

Koushi gulped, already fearing the worst. “What is it?”

“You have to help me rob this other group blind.” He stated, causing Koushi to blank out for a second.

“I’m sorry. What.” Kageyama spoke up, glaring at the blonde, who held his hands up in surrender.

“I’ve got my reasons, okay? Besides being a petty bitch.” He defended. “But you guys should probably sit down and rest a bit.”

The blonde, they learned, was Yuuji Terushima, and just like them the Johzenji group was a volleyball team who’d survived. Funny how that happened. Terushima told them about the gang of thugs who’d set their first hideout on fire and were still hanging around causing trouble, and how they were extra on-edge around the Johzenji gang ever since Terushima had returned the favor with a Molotov cocktail. The plan was for Koushi to entice his way in, either through pity or seduction (or both), wait until they were dead asleep and take everything worth taking and get the hell out of dodge.

Koushi didn’t know the first goddamn thing about seducing someone. Why was this a good idea again?

Oh yeah, supplies. Duh.

Hinata and Kageyama had disappeared to go grab things, and Kiyoko had hesitated on going after them before Koushi shooed her off. The last thing he needed was her sitting in on his ‘acting’ lessons and getting blackmail material. He loved Kiyoko (completely platonically), but she did not need any more secrets of his. She had enough dirt on him from first year, anyways.

Terushima looked him over. “So the key here is to play up the ‘innocent’ angle. You’ve got this aura about you that you can do no wrong, use it to your advantage.”

“How do I do that?” Koushi questioned as the blonde sat in front of him.

“Lots of puppy dog eyes. Maybe fake tears. You ever seen _Ouran High School Host Club_?” He asked, turning to a bag he’d had someone deliver.

Koushi snorted. “I’m not turning into Tamaki Suoh.”

“You don’t have to.” Terushima turned, holding out a soft-looking pastel blue sweater and ripped jeans. “Try more for Honey, instead.”

Koushi took the clothes, admiring how soft the sweater was. “Should I just change now?”

Terushima nodded, pointing him in the direction of the changing rooms. A few minutes later, Koushi made his way back, thankful for clothes that hadn’t been worn for like a month straight. Terushima let out a low whistle, looking him up and down appreciatively. “Looking good, Suga. But it still needs a little something...forbidden.”

“Oh lord.” Koushi sighed, as Terushima held up a simple string choker. That wasn’t as bad as he thought.

“Now that we’ve got the look, we have to work on mannerisms. Prepare to turn yourself into baby.” Terushima grinned, and Koushi realized that he might’ve made a mistake agreeing to become a borderline honeypot.

But looking back on it later, it was definitely the best mistake of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBl3EpUqAjE


	15. I Wanna Get Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Holy shit, Suga."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this chapter is dedicated to sunny and her wonderful apocalypse au which you can read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24421594/chapters/58917199
> 
> sunny i would die for you i hope you know that

Two weeks later found Koushi prepared to hustle some fuckers. Terushima had prepared him for any situation he might come across, sans actually sleeping with someone, and had made sure he looked the part before sending him on his way with a “good luck” and a very nice iridescent butterfly knife.

They’d decided to have Koushi rough it on his own in the area for a bit, and when he found the group he’d play the pity card to get them to take him in. From the information Terushima gave him, they were stupid enough to fall for it, and Koushi hoped it ended up being true.

Currently, Koushi was squatting in an abandoned Denny’s, trying to find some sort of food and only finding an absurd amount of fake maple syrup. And salt, there was a lot of salt too. Everything else had either expired or been taken already. He sighed, leaving the stock room and going to flop on one of the booths.

In another life, one without zombies, maybe he’d have come here with his team after games. Hinata and Kageyama would’ve sat impossibly close together, squabbling like they always did, but with no malicious intent behind it. Daichi probably would’ve told them off, and maybe get Koushi to help, but Koushi knew he’d just sit and laugh, being the enabler he was. Noya probably would’ve gotten a kid’s menu from the waiter, and pouted until Asahi traded their menus. Idly he wondered where those other two first years would’ve fit in. What were they like? He’d seen their names and faces from the applications, and they’d been set to move in the week after the collapse happened. Now they’d probably never get to play volleyball again.

Unless the situation in San Francisco was different, which was always an option. But let’s be real, America was shit in crisis, no matter where you lived.

Koushi was snapped out of his inner musings by the muffled noise of boys talking, and he peeked up and through the window to see the group he was meant to target. Terushima had told him that none of them had any super defining features, but they all wore navy blue jackets with their last name on it. Koushi had to disagree, there was one guy, the leader, who looked like he walked straight out of a 50’s greaser movie. Or Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

He got up, grabbing his bag, and took a deep breath before peeking “shyly” out the door. One of the boys spotted him, pointing him out to the leader. “You alone?”

Koushi nodded, coming out of the doorway. “My group ditched me here about a week ago.”

“Yikes, really?” One of the other boys piped up. “Poor thing.”

The leader cleared his throat. “You’re welcome to stay with us for a while, if you’d like. We’ve got a working shower, you look like you could use it.”

Koushi grinned, nodding avidly. “I’d love that, thank you so much!”

On the way to their base, located in an old theater, Koushi learned that they belonged to the volleyball club of a small school called Ohgi Minami, and that they prided themselves on their extensive collection of firearms. He filed that information away, wondering if there was any way he could get all of them. Maybe if he found some sort of cart?

Looking around their theater, they didn’t have much in the way of decorations and furniture, and their beds were a mishmash of sleeping bags strewn across the floor. Koushi internally grimaced, having just gotten used to having a bed again. They informed him that the snack counter was fully stocked, and he was allowed to take whatever he wanted. They didn’t tell him where the weapons were stored, but a quick glance at the locked manager’s office told him what he needed to know. He continued to scout the place under the guise of exploring, and while he didn’t find a cart, there were plenty of large rolling garbage cans that he could use.

Koushi decided to take advantage of the previously mentioned shower, and spent a good half hour in there, scrubbing off the dirt and grime, and enjoying the fact that the water was warm. They hadn’t had warm water at the school for a couple months, since the heater broke and none of them knew where it was, let alone how to fix it. The soaps weren’t the best, but then again, he hadn’t been able to use any of the good stuff until recently. He’d missed smelling like something other than Axe body spray (thanks, Tanaka).

He spent the rest of the day getting himself situated and getting information from the others. They didn’t seem too put off that Koushi didn’t offer much information in return, but he chalked that up to his “background story” of being the medic and not going out unless necessary. There weren’t many people left in the area, most of them having gone to bigger cities for more resources or just straight up dying. The resources still in the area were somewhat spent, and they admitted to having to travel great distances for large food runs. Guess they hadn’t discovered gardening yet.

They’d given Koushi a basic sleeping bag in the corner for the night, and before the lights were turned off he scouted the best way to escape the room without waking anyone. Before he’d left the Walmart, he’d talked with Terushima about possibly drugging them to ensure they stayed asleep.

“You won’t need it. Once they’re out, they’re out cold for the next ten hours.” He had assured, patting Koushi on the shoulder. “Besides, something tells me you’ll need those sleep meds for something else.”

That last statement left Koushi confused, but he hadn’t questioned it. But Terushima had absolutely been correct-within an hour of the lights being turned off, everyone there was dead asleep, snoring. Silently, he grabbed his bag and slipped his shoes on, eyes having adjusted while he waited for them to pass out. He crept his way out of the room, thankful that the door was already propped open. He grabbed two trashcans and made his way to the snack bar, filling them up with canned foods and bagged snacks.

He left the cans filled with food by the exit, going to grab another two and heading to the locked manager’s office. Thankfully it was a simple MasterLock, and he slipped one of the bobby pins out of his hair to easily pick the lock. These amateurs really weren’t prepared to be swindled, obviously, and he quickly grabbed every single weapon and clip of ammunition, raising a brow at a belt of grenades. Ten bucks said that went to Noya.

Wiping his brow, Koushi did one last survey of the room before wheeling the weapon cans out, grabbing the food cans and leaving the theater. He paused, debating whether to be petty or not, then decided yeah, petty was the way to go. He dug into his bag, pulling out a sheet of paper and a pen, and scribbled out a note for them, complete with a cheeky doodle of himself. After setting it on the door he left from, he grabbed the cans and quickly rushed back to the Walmart, grinning the whole way.

“Holy shit, Suga.” Was Terushima’s response to the four cans, stock full of supplies.

Koushi grinned proudly as the rest of the group, who’d all met at the Walmart to grab what they wanted, began rummaging through the cans. Just as he thought, Noya grabbed the grenade belt, laughing when it didn’t fit around his waist. Kageyama grabbed what looked like a katana, admiring it before slipping the sheath over his shoulder. Asahi and Yachi were eagerly digging through the food, discussing possible meals, while Kiyoko watched them with a soft smile. Daichi walked over to Koushi, having slung some sort of machine gun over his shoulder. “You did great, Suga.”

Just hearing that caused a bit of warmth to flood Koushi’s face. Sure, he’d gotten over his crush on Daichi after getting rejected in first year, but compliments from him (and anyone, really) still caused him to blush.

He shrugged. “Turns out I have a talent for fooling people.”

“You’ve always been able to fool people. You look like an angel at first glance, and then you turn around and smack Asahi for being anxious.” Daichi chuckled. “Not that it’s a bad thing.”

Koushi snickered. “I guess I qualify as the chaotic mom friend.”

“Oh, absolutely.” Daichi agreed, watching as Tanaka attempted to put as many guns on his person as he could.

Koushi thought for a second. “Wouldn’t that make you the dad?”

Daichi paled. “Please no. I’m too young to be a dad.”

Koushi laughed at Daichi’s face of discomfort, wishing he had his phone still so he could take a picture. Guess memory would have to do.

While the others went through the contents of the cans, Koushi decided to wander the Walmart and grab stuff for himself, seeing as he hadn’t had a chance to yet. Most of what he got was clothes, but he struck a deal with a couple of the Johzenji guys to get a bed set up in the classroom that served as his room. He lingered in the bedding aisle, debating what he wanted to grab for his setup, eventually deciding on a mint green and pale grey set, and impulsively grabbed extra pillows and soft pastel blankets. He liked soft colors, sue him.

He wheeled the shopping cart to the toiletries aisle, grinning at the shelves full of good beauty products. Sure, it wasn’t Bath and Body Works, but it was still a holy grail in its own right. Noya found him there, piling shampoos into his cart. “Need a hand with that?”

Koushi blinked. “That’d be great, thanks.”

Noya beamed and helped Koushi fill the cart with soaps. “So I actually need to talk to you about something.”

“Oh?” Koushi racked his brain for what Noya could possibly need his help with, but all he came up with was setting. And that was definitely not it.

“I’ve got feelings for someone in the group, and I think I’m going to confess.” Noya told him, picking up a pink razor and making a face.

“Really? Do you mind telling me who?” Koushi pried, knowing he was probably being nosy.

Noya shrugged. “It’s probably better if you do. It’s Asahi.”

Koushi dropped the container of sugar scrub he’d been examining. “Seriously?”

“Is it that shocking...?” The smaller boy scratched the back of his head.

Koushi shook his head. “Not really, it’s just...you’re so casual about it!”

Noya laughed. “I’ve never been one for hiding things. You know this.”

Koushi hummed in acknowledgement, picking up the fallen container. “What do you need help with, then?”

“Where should I confess?” The former libero tossed a bottle of mouthwash into the basket.

Koushi paused to think. “Your room is probably the best bet for not being interrupted, but if you want to go the romantic route then definitely the greenhouse. Or you could forgo all of that and use the gym, that’s definitely the most you route.”

Noya nodded, absorbing all the information. “I think I’ll just stick with my room, but put up some string lights or something to make the atmosphere all romantic.”

“That’s a good idea.” Koushi admitted, debating between two different toothpaste tubes before throwing them both in the cart. “I wish you luck.”

“I’m gonna need it.” Noya smiled, but Koushi could tell he was scared underneath.

And it made sense for him to be scared. Asahi was his best friend, had been for years. And if the potential loss of a best friend wasn’t enough, they were stuck living together for the foreseeable future. If things went to shit and they somehow started hating each other, it’d affect everyone else at the base. But on the flip side, if it went well...

Dammit, Koushi shared a wall with Noya. Hopefully their relationship didn’t progress too quickly, he’d rather not know what Noya sounded like getting fucked. Knowing Asahi, though, it’d be a while until they got to that stage, but who knows what Noya would convince him to do.

Idly, Koushi tried to remember if Walmart had an adult-only section, before mentally berating himself. He wasn’t that desperate. Sure, it’d been seven months since he’d last been intimate with someone, but he could deal. Right?

Oh, who was he kidding. He was touch-starved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p02oBzHabfw


	16. Slowly Learning That Life is Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The only thing that would make this better is good barbecue."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha guess what im giving you an update to BOTH fics this week! and this one has our resident idiots!
> 
> for those of you who still support this fic and leave me words of love thank you so much!
> 
> (is it sad if i still squeal in happiness over the piece of fanart i got? yeah i thought so too)

Tooru had to admit, this road trip thing wasn’t a bad idea. Even if the constant zombies were bringing him down.

They’d made their way halfway across the southern border, and were now trapped in the timeless void that is Texas. It’d been eight and a half months since the collapse, one month since they’d started their vacation, and they’d honestly blown through a couple states. Bokuto had started recovering, masking pain behind too-wide smiles, but Tooru knew better than anyone how much he was still hurting. At least the others seemed to be pretty much stable, with Kuroo and Kenma still adorably couple-y and Tsukishima and Yamaguchi still dancing around each other.

But Tooru was hoping to change that. The Tsukishima-Yamaguchi situation, at least. He’d subtly been pushing them together in the car (much to the blonde’s chagrin), and Kuroo had gotten the hint and had been making more comments about the two of them lately. Sure, they were pretty obvious, but these boys needed that huge push.

They’d decided to stop for the night in what used to be El Paso, shuffling themselves into a dusty hotel. Kuroo had grabbed Kenma’s hand and dragged him to one of the larger rooms, and Tooru had grabbed Bokuto, stating that they should sleep in pairs “for safety”. Tsukishima had sighed, but led Yamaguchi to one of the rooms anyways, a blush rising on the freckled boy’s face.

Tooru and Bokuto had gotten themselves settled in for the night when Tooru realized he’d left his crossbow in the car, so he quickly ran to get it (best to be prepared). On the way back, he passed by the room Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had chosen and, being the gossip whore he was, decided to eavesdrop in case there was anything happening.

He wasn’t sure whether that was a good idea or a bad idea.

What greeted him when he pressed his ear to the door was the soft sound of kisses, with quiet almost-moans interspersed. He strained to hear if there was the rustle of movement, but it seemed they were keeping it at just making out for now. Tooru grinned, knowing he had potential blackmail material, and went back to his room.

“Bo-chan, you’re not gonna believe this.” He declared, shutting the door behind him.

Bokuto looked up from where he was typing on Akaashi’s laptop. “What happened?”

Tooru flopped back on the bed, pressing the top of his head to Bokuto’s thigh. “I think I overheard our resident salt pile and precious bean making out.”

“Holy shit, really?” The silver-haired boy nearly shouted, causing Tooru to shush him.

“Really. I don’t think it went farther than that, but it’s progress!” He grinned. “I’m gonna bring it up tomorrow in front of the group and see how they react.”

Bokuto snorted, going back to typing. “I hope Tsukishima doesn’t break your face for eavesdropping.”

“Oh please, like he can hit me. I’m good at not getting punched. What are you writing?” Tooru sat up a bit to peer at the screen.

Bokuto grinned sheepishly. “I’m kind of keeping a digital diary. Figure in like fifty years historians will find it and straightify the relationships I’ve written about, but it’s better than nothing.”

Tooru laughed. “Ah yes, because ‘good friends’ make out or call each other cute nicknames.”

“Or suck each other’s dick.” Bokuto snickered.

“Or that.” Tooru agreed.

“So I heard something quite interesting last night.” Tooru casually mentioned over what now passed as breakfast, but was really just canned fruits.

Tsukishima raised a brow as Kuroo choked, causing Bokuto to slap him on the back. Kenma winced at the sound. After catching his breath, Kuroo looked Tooru dead in the eye. “I thought we were far enough away that you wouldn’t hear.”

Kenma flushed, and Tooru’s eyebrows flew up. “I wasn’t talking about you two, but now I want details.”

“Hell no.” The small boy huffed, staring into his can like it held the answers to life, clearly flustered.

Tooru sighed. “I’ll get them eventually. No, I believe I heard our resident bitch and bean couple making out.”

This time it was Yamaguchi’s turn to blush, and he looked to Tsukishima, slightly panicked. The blonde sighed and laid a comforting hand on the other’s shoulder before turning to the group. “I’m surprised it took you this long to figure it out.”

Everyone, sans Yamaguchi, gaped at the blonde. “I’m sorry, I must not be hearing things, because it sounds like you played us?” Bokuto asked.

“You heard right. We, uh, wanted to see how long it would take for you to really discover we were dating.” Yamaguchi clarified, scratching the back of his head.

“And how long have you been a thing?” Kuroo demanded.

Tsukishima thought for a second. “I think we’ve hit the two year mark recently.”

At that, the table exploded into madness, and throughout all the shouting Tsukishima kept the same smug expression, looking eerily similar to a cat held at knife point.

Two days later found them deep in the heart of Texas, wandering the Fort Worth Stockyards. Usually it wouldn’t be a place Tooru would visit (unless Iwa-chan convinced him), but when it was practically empty it wasn’t bad.

“The only thing that would make this better is good barbecue.” Bokuto bemoaned, helping Kuroo look through stupid touristy shirts.

Yamaguchi flung a crappy sombrero right onto Bokuto’s head, making the taller man laugh. “Sure, but it could be worse. The grounds could still reek of horse shit.”

Tooru made a face, making Kenma snort and take a picture with the polaroid they’d lifted from a Target back in Phoenix. The smaller boy was documenting their travel stops with pictures, claiming he was going to hang them in his room back in LA. At first, Tsukishima had snorted and called him a VSCO girl, but Kenma had a surprisingly good eye for photography.

Most of them had picked up little habits since leaving LA; Kenma and photography, Bokuto and his virtual journal, Kuroo had started collecting tourist tees, and Tooru made it his goal to pick up personal care products everywhere they went. Thankfully the car had more trunk space, since they’d grabbed a trailer and plenty of bungee cords to strap down their finds (usually they were consolidated in luggage, but Tsukishima had found an especially large T-Rex plush and refused to part with it, so now Larry protected the cases).

The situation still wasn’t ideal, not by a long shot, but they were making do with what they had. Even if most of what they had was each other.

The group continued their way through the stockyards, taking down whatever zombies had decided to linger there, before making a stop in an old ice cream shop. None of said ice cream was edible anymore, of course, but there were other goodies to be found-such as a shit ton of chocolate and glass bottled sodas. Kuroo cleaned up a table for them before filling the table with soda, and they all sat down to just relax for a second.

“Weird question.” Kenma started after everyone had popped their drinks open.

“Shoot, kitten.” Kuroo pet his head before taking a large swig of the cherry cola he’d decided to start with.

Kenma shooed his hand away with a flush. “What’s one kinda stupid thing everyone misses?”

“Volleyball.” Bokuto blurted, and Tooru held up his cream soda in a cheers motion.

Tsukishima blinked. “You guys played too?”

Kuroo laughed. “There’s no way we all played.”

“Setter for Aoba Johsai, baby.” Tooru grinned. “Also captain.”

“Ace for Fukurodani, and captain.” Bokuto declared.

“I was captain and middle blocker at Nekoma, and Kenma was setter.” Kuroo wrapped an arm around his boyfriend.

Yamaguchi giggled. “Tsukki and I were supposed to go to Karasuno together, all the way in Kansas. Then the collapse happened.”

“Okay, but what positions, Freckles-kun?” Tooru prodded.

“Middle blocker for us, but Tadashi’s usually put in as pinch server.” Tsukishima answered.

“So we practically have our own team set up, then.” Kuroo grinned. “Maybe we should go back and challenge those Shiratorizawa fucks.”

Tooru cackled. “Oh my god, please! There is nothing I want more than to beat UshifuckinWaka in volleyball.”

Bokuto cleared his throat, before adopting an expression and tone similar to Ushijima’s. “You should have come to Shiratorizawa, so I can ogle your inexistent ass in tiny shorts.”

The group burst into laughter, some from the accuracy of the impression and some from the sheer absurdity. Bokuto beamed proudly.

They talked for a few hours, mostly about mundane stuff, before grabbing as many sodas and candies as they could and heading back to the car. Kuroo checked the map for a possible hotel, and then they were off again.

Next stop, DisneyWorld.


	17. A Whole New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I call maid of honor!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i get the feeling that this chapter might raise SEVERAL questions so feel free to ask me on https://www.tumblr.com/blog/raceyatothemoon
> 
> you're welcome

“Are you SURE we can’t crank up the AC anymore?” Koutarou whined, tugging at the neck of his tee to fan himself.

Kenma turned to him from the front seat with a glare. “It’s all the way up. There’s only so much it can do with 115-degree weather and six people in the car.”

Koutarou groaned before slumping against Oikawa, who groaned and pushed him off. “Why is Texas like this?”

“Everything’s bigger in Texas.” Tsukishima stated. “The state, the trucks, the meals, the bigoted assholes, the temperatures, the guns.”

“A truer statement has never been said.” Yamaguchi muttered.

“I’m surprised you haven’t just stripped off your shirt, bro.” Kuroo said.

Koutarou snorted. “I can’t without being attacked by Tsukishima and Kenma, dude.”

“Try it and I’ll gut you like a fish.” Kenma threatened.

Kuroo laughed and ran a hand through his boyfriend’s hair, wincing at how sweaty it was. “Calm down, kitten. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, you know.”

“I hate that you’re right.” Kenma pouted.

“So where’s our next stop again?” Oikawa piped up.

“Pretty sure we’re stopping in New Orleans, for some odd reason. I don’t see the appeal if there’s no restaurants or jazz around.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes.

Kuroo clicked his tongue. “We’re stopping there because there’s a good chance the bars are untouched.”

“We’re going to New Orleans so we can drink? Really?” Oikawa groaned, laying back on the floorboards.

Koutarou snorted. “Wonder if there’s instruments still around. We could probably make our own jazz.”

“Hell no.” Tsukishima glared daggers at Koutarou, who shrugged sheepishly.

Kuroo looked back at the group from the rearview window. “You’d be surprised. Maybe Bo’s a musical genius.”

“I think you need a brain to be able to play an instrument.” The blonde snarked.

“Hey now!”

New Orleans passed in a drunken haze, and Koutarou was pretty sure he’d gotten fucked thoroughly by someone (though he didn’t know who, he woke up with a familiar ache in his hips and a cold bed, and none of them remembered anything). They’d stopped in other various places, but never for very long-they were all too excited for DisneyWorld. Well, except Tsukishima, but that was normal.

Oikawa was talking animatedly with Yamaguchi about the time he came here with his high school volleyball team, and the younger boy looked genuinely interested in his crazy stories. Kuroo had decided to piggyback Kenma into the park, and Tsukishima brought up the rear, keeping an eye out for danger. Koutarou had burst into the first gift shop he could find, digging through once-expensive merchandise for mouse ears for the whole crew.

For Kuroo he picked out a pair of simple black ears with a rainbow bow in the middle, knowing he’d wear them with pride. For Kenma, he got something a little softer, and picked out a pair of white velvet ears with a donut pattern on the ears, a pale mint green and pastel pink gradient bow in the middle. Tsukishima he struggled a bit with, knowing the other wouldn’t want anything too fancy, and settled on a pair of navy blue sequined ears adorned with a golden bow. Yamaguchi’s was pretty simple, with a wire frame and a flower crown across the top, fake daisies and sunflowers sure to make the freckled boy look even softer. Oikawa he couldn’t decide on, and it’d come between a pair of rose gold ears with a matching bow and tiny tiara charm and a pair of Little Mermaid themed ears, with shimmering purple scales and a dark teal mesh bow. He ended up grabbing both, figuring the other would wear them equally.

Koutarou paused when it came to ears for himself, his eyes drifting to a cheesy newlywed double pack, the groom’s with a tiny top hat and the bride’s with a crown and veil. Flashing through his brain was images of Akaashi, and what he’d look like in the soft veil. He smacked himself to get rid of it, knowing dwelling on his deceased boyfriend wasn’t going to do him any good, and grabbed the double set before heading back to the group.

They’d all been satisfied with Koutarou’s choices, and Oikawa had snickered at the two different pairs before putting them both on. Only Tsukishima seemed to notice the bridal ears sticking out of Koutarou’s bag, but he didn’t comment on it. The rest of them just assumed the top hat ears were a solo.

They made their way through the abandoned Magic Kingdom, Kenma getting plenty of pictures of the group doing stupid things, and taking out zombies who’d huddled at the rundown rides. Kuroo had managed to get them into one of the cast rooms, and Oikawa had practically squealed when he saw the princess costumes hung up on the wall, untouched by time. Koutarou had tried to join him in wearing a dress, but they were built differently, and he almost ripped it trying to pull it on. Yamaguchi had looked longingly at the Cinderella dress, but a scoff from Tsukishima kept him from trying it on. Kuroo had joked about Kenma putting on the Sleeping Beauty gown, saying it was the princess that suited him best, but Kenma had sighed and told him he was too short for the dress. Costume members were required to be tall, after all.

After their costume stop, they made their way to Cinderella’s Palace, where Kuroo’s lock picking skills paid off once again. The suite was still impressive, and Oikawa had made a running start at the bed before jumping on. “I don’t care what you say, I’m sleeping here tonight.”

Kuroo laughed. “We can all sleep here, there’s two beds and a pull-out couch.”

Yamaguchi put a finger to his chin, thinking. “Wouldn’t it be logical to have the couples take the beds, and Bokuto and Oikawa take the pullout couch?”

Oikawa sent a glare at Yamaguchi. “I called dibs, Freckles-kun. No way.”

“No, no, he’s got a point.” Tsukishima smirked. “It’s only fair.”

“C’mon, bro, the pullout couch can’t be that bad.” Koutarou tried to amend. “Besides, you’ll probably end up using me as a pillow.”

“You do make a very good pillow.” Oikawa admitted, sitting up. “Fine.”

“Hey, Tetsu? Can I borrow your bat real quick?” Kenma called from the other room, causing the rest of them to rush over, fearing the worst.

They were met with the small boy looking intently into a glass case, a replica glass slipper glittering in the fading sunlight. Kuroo sighed in relief. “You had me scared, kitten!”

“Sorry.” Kenma averted his eyes. “But I wanna try the shoe on, I think it might fit. Plus, Oikawa will want the tiara in there.”

“He’s not wrong.” Oikawa called from the bedroom, the only one to not get up.

Kuroo took his bat off his back, gesturing for them to back up, before swinging into the top of the case, knocking the top off and causing a few glass shards to go flying. He tentatively reached in, grabbing the shoe and crown, before stepping away and kneeling in front of Kenma. The shorter boy snorted as Kuroo looked up at him, fluttering his lashes comically.

“May I, milady?” He joked.

Kenma nodded, pulling off one of his sneakers. “You certainly may, your highness.”

Kuroo lifted his bare foot and placed a soft kiss to the side of his ankle before gently slipping on the shoe, and to everyone’s shock, it fit Kenma’s foot perfectly. “Holy shit.”

Koutarou loudly sniffed, wiping a fake tear from his eye. “I believe a royal wedding is in our future.”

Yamaguchi laughed. “I call maid of honor!”

That night, Koutarou laid awake, unable to sleep despite everyone else being conked out. So he did what every other young adult does when they can’t sleep-he got on the computer. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could do without internet, but surely there was something on here he could browse through.

There wasn’t anything promising in the documents, mostly school papers and such, and the only game he had that wasn’t through Steam was Solitaire, and Koutarou hated solitaire. The photo gallery yielded results, though, and he scrolled all the way back to find baby pictures of Akaashi, as well as what must’ve been his parents. Even as a baby he was pretty, which was totally unfair (Koutarou was large, even as a baby, embarrassingly enough).

As he continued to scroll, he saw Akaashi grow up, and the addition of his sisters. Usagi was the older sister, and while Akaashi got all his looks from his mom, Usagi had only gotten her dark hair and olive-tone skin. Her eyes were dark, a replica of their father’s, and Koutarou wasn’t sure where the crooked grin came from. Sakura came a bit later, the baby of the family, and when put side by side with Akaashi you would’ve never guessed they were related, with her pale skin, fair hair, and dark eyes. Koutarou watched as hordes of volleyball and band photos filled the camera roll, along with a few of what looked like Usagi doing ballet (and looking miserable). As he got to the more recent photos, he started recognizing a few from the collage that Akaashi had set up as his computer background, such as his high school graduation photo, a photo of all three siblings dressed formally and making stupid faces, and a very embarrassing photo of Usagi practically crying over a cat with three legs head butting her.

Koutarou felt something drip onto his shirt, and he felt his face and realized at some point he’d started crying. He hastily wiped away the tears with his blanket, happy the others were all dead asleep. He didn’t need to stress them out again. He could handle this.

He had to.

DisneyWorld had definitely worked its magic, even without being open, and the squad had been in high spirits the entire journey home, and they were finally going back to their home in LA. On the car ride, they were going back and forth, remembering different stupid things, “celebrating” the end of the trip (and that it’d been a year since the collapse, but none of them really wanted to think about that, especially with Oikawa).

“I still can’t believe you stole one of those stupid It’s a Small World dolls, Freckles-kun.” Oikawa griped.

Yamaguchi held his hands up in surrender. “Listen. I’m probably going to end up using it as target practice in a month.”

“Do NOT waste ammo on that thing.” Tsukishima flicked his forehead, causing the brunette (greenette?) to whine.

“You’re so mean to me, Tsukki.” He pouted. “See if I ever suck you off again.”

Koutarou cackled at the face Tsukishima made, like someone had just forced a spicy lemon down his throat. Oikawa whistled at the bold statement from the usually shy boy, and Kuroo just shook his head with a fond smile as they pulled into the driveway of their new place.

They’d made sure it was easy to spot for survivors, and had spray painted all over the brick walls. Koutarou hadn’t participated much beyond a single silver owl by the always open back door, but he could tell Kuroo and Oikawa had gone all out by the amount of red and teal drawings all over. Kenma had taken a purple can and written “FUCK” in large letters on the gate, and Koutarou snorted at the sight as he swung it open, leading them inside. They were still making idle chatter as he opened the back door, but whatever he was about to say died in his throat almost immediately.

Pressed against his throat was a bloody katana blade, and staring him down were the eyes of the dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you don't know this one i worry for you


	18. Promise Me a Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm only letting him have that title for a week, and then I want it back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit y'all went FERAL on me
> 
> so have some schmoop
> 
> also i might start taking writing requests/possibly commissions if people actually think my writing is worth paying for? i've been looking at that giyuu tomioka nendo and he lookin REAL NICE

Koutarou blinked. And blinked again. Wide green eyes blinked back at him. Was this a hallucination? Did he finally lose it after missing his dead boyfriend for so long? This wasn’t actually happening, was it?

Akaashi stared, katana still held at Koutarou’s throat. He vaguely registered it shaking, but he was kind of more focused on the fact that his “dead” boyfriend wasn’t so dead, apparently. For a second- maybe it was five seconds, maybe a whole minute, he couldn’t tell- everything was still, neither boy making a move, probably not even breathing.

The katana clattered to the floor, breaking the strange spell, and then Akaashi was taking a step forward, and then another, and Koutarou was taking a step forward, and suddenly there were strong arms wrapping around his torso and a head of curly black hair burying itself into his shoulder.

He crushed Akaashi tightly into his embrace. They were both shaking at this point, and Koutarou closed his eyes, feeling tears leaking out already onto his boyfriend’s soft hoodie. He shakily breathed in, the familiar smell of rain and jasmine washing over his senses. A wetness seeped into his own shirt and he knew the other was feeling just as overwhelmed as he was.

“I thought-“ Akaashi’s voice cracked and wavered, and he swallowed heavily. “The house was empty- I thought that-”

Koutarou clutched the smaller boy closer (if that was even possible at this point, he might honestly be cutting off his circulation), as if he could absorb the other into himself. Nothing felt close enough after thinking he’d died in front of him.

He plunged a hand into soft, untamed curls and whispered, “I thought you died back at that farmers market.”

Slowly, the two collapsed down to the ground, separating to look each other in the face. Koutarou took his sobbing boyfriend’s face in his hands, taking in the boy he’d missed for so long, thought was gone forever. His striking green eyes, the curve of his lips, the softness of his cheeks, now wet with tears. Even a now-blotchy mess, he was gorgeous.

He looked down for a second and his eyes widened in shock. “Is that _my_ hoodie you’re wearing?”

“Yes,” Akaashi mumbled. “I kept it this whole time.”

A fresh wave of tears filled Koutarou’s eyes and all at once he was hit with how much of a void remained in his partner’s absence. He pressed his forehead to the other’s and took his hands in his. Akaashi’s fingers had always been longer and more elegant than his, and now they slotted desperately together with Koutarou’s own.

“I’m never letting you go again,” he breathed, trying to memorize every detail of Akaashi’s shining eyes that he’d forgotten. He pressed a quick kiss against the other’s lips before bringing him back into his embrace.

The curly haired boy let out a watery chuckle. “I’d like that.”

“Yo Bokuto how’s- oh.” Kuroo stared from where he’d entered the doorway, frozen with one foot still in the air. For a second he just blinked, but seemed to get ahold of himself as he turned to yell at the rest of the crew to “get in here, you have to see this!”

At Kuroo’s shout, Akaashi jolted away, furiously wiping at his eyes. “I’m being completely ridiculous, I apologize.”

“It seems justified to me,” Koutarou spoke softly, grabbing the other’s hands and pulling them gently away from his face.

“What, did some straggler break in?” Oikawa’s voice floated through the door.

“Or something.” Kuroo snorted, pointing at where Koutarou and Akaashi were still semi-tangled together.

Oikawa peeked in, jaw dropping. “That is NOT what I expected, holy shit. Is that Aka-chan??”

Akaashi smiled softly. “Good to know you still have the same nickname for me.”

After plenty of tears and hugs, they finally decided to sit in the circle of couches, regaling each other with tales from their time apart. Akaashi told them about how the Shiratorizawa group had saved him just after they’d left, and had let him stay at their hideout while his injuries healed. About the time they’d left on vacation, Akaashi had started making his way to their new place, stuck traveling on foot. He’d found the house after a couple weeks of wandering around LA, and had assumed the worst when he found it completely set up but deserted. He’d added a few things he’d found to the house, and basically claimed Koutarou’s room as his own (including his hoodies, of course).

The rest of them took turns talking about their vacation, and while Oikawa regaled them with tales of Disney, Koutarou dug into his bag to make sure the ears he’d grabbed for Akaashi were still there. Would he think they were cheesy? Or would he like that they were a matching pair?

He was overthinking this. Akaashi would love them.

As Oikawa wrapped up the shoe debacle (Kenma had ended up keeping the shoe, and it was currently wrapped up in like ten blankets in one of the suitcases), Koutarou carefully placed the ears on Akaashi, making sure he didn’t squish the other boy’s actual ears. Akaashi blinked, slowly reaching up to feel the headband as Yamaguchi snickered. “Behold, the true prettiest princess.” Oikawa rolled his eyes at the younger boy’s words.

“I’m only letting him have that title for a week, and then I want it back.” He scoffed, but no one missed the small smile that graced his face.

They continued to catch up until dinnertime, in which Akaashi surprised them with fresh food. He’d kept up a vegetable garden in another backyard, seeds courtesy of Ushijima, and had ventured to Echo Lake early that day to see if he could catch anything. Turns out he was pretty damn good at the fishing thing.

“I know you guys just got back, but there’s something you guys should probably know.” Akaashi said while Kuroo cleaned the plates away.

Koutarou raised a brow. “It’s nothing dangerous, is it?”

Akaashi shook his head, rustling those adorable curls. “Not from what I can tell. Someone turn on the radio.”

Tsukishima, who was closest to the radio Akaashi had looted, looked at it skeptically before turning it on, and instead of the static they expected, it was a voice recording.

“To any survivors in the country, the capital is a safe haven. The government will protect you. We will not let America fall.” The tinny voice said, repeating the same message over again.

They let it play a few times, looking at each other in complete disbelief, before Tsukishima shut it off. “There’s no way that’s real. They couldn’t broadcast that from the capital on FM waves.”

“They could, if they use the emergency system.” Kuroo pointed out. “I know you’re a Spotify bitch, but in case of national emergency, there is a FM frequency that works across the whole country.”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes at the insult, and Oikawa stood up. “I say we take that risk. I don’t know about you guys, but I am so damn tired of fighting constantly.”

“I miss hot food.” Kenma mumbled, fiddling with the strings on his hoodie.

Kuroo ran a hand through his hair soothingly. “I know, kitten. I bet they’ve got power back in DC. All in favor say aye?”

Everyone spoke up, even the reluctant Tsukishima, and they began working on a travel plan to get them to the safe haven.

They’d make it to safety, no matter the cost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9N-v3KURSc


	19. Some Mistakes Get Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I have never felt more like a mom, and I hate it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i decided i am definitely taking oneshot requests, so if you want me to write you a thing send it to my tumblr ask box https://www.tumblr.com/blog/raceyatothemoon
> 
> if you request it here i swear to every god out there i will pull a sangwoo on your kneecaps
> 
> anyways im sorry for this chapter

Koushi found Hinata sitting at the track yard again, staring at the rock sculpture they’d constructed a couple months ago. He shouldn’t have been surprised, all things considered.

He gently laid a hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. Brown eyes looked at him, lacking their usual fire.

“You need to eat, Hinata.” Koushi reminded him.

Hinata blinked, registering his words, before getting up wordlessly and wandering back into the school. Koushi watched him go, biting his lip. He didn’t blame the younger boy for his slump, but would he ever go back to normal? He looked back to the pile of rocks, as if expecting an answer, but there was nothing but the rustle of wind. With a soft sigh, he followed Hinata inside, mentally noting to check the greenhouse for flowers.

Things had changed rapidly in the past few months. Terushima and his group had left, citing some radio transmission, leaving the Walmart to Karasuno. They’d decided that instead of trying to guard two places, they’d move pretty much everything they would need to the school, and spent about a month going back and forth between the two places. It was around the end of their “moving” period when Natsu fell sick, and that was like a signal for hell to come.

The zombies had suddenly multiplied in numbers, like ZombieCon had come to town or something, and Koushi wasn’t able to get out as much as he needed to. Now, they were finally starting to thin out again, but Daichi was still paranoid, so Koushi was only allowed out about every few weeks. He couldn’t even get mad about it, they were all worried about losing another member.

On the brighter side, though, Noya’s confession had gone smoothly, and now Koushi had to suffer listening to their sappy couple talk through the wall every night. A small price to pay for happiness, though, and happiness was definitely needed around there.

Koushi was headed to the greenhouse to check on the plants when Kageyama stopped him, his expression unsure. Which meant only one thing-he needed advice. “What can I help you with this time?”

Kageyama averted his eyes, an embarrassed flush rising to his cheeks. “How do you...comfort someone?”

Koushi blinked. “Depends on who you’re comforting and why. But I’m guessing you’re asking because of Hinata, right?”

Kageyama’s glare was telling enough, and if he were anyone else, Koushi was sure he would’ve been scared off by the intensity. He smiled softly, leading Kageyama to his room so no one would overhear their conversation. “The most important thing with comforting Hinata is just being there. You don’t always have to say something, or do something. Just be there for him.”

Kageyama nodded slightly as Koushi ushered him into the room, taking a seat on one of the bean bags the older setter had stockpiled. “But if I do want to talk, what kind of things should I say?”

“Well, don’t bring up what happened, first of all.” Koushi sat on the bed, facing his protégé. “If it’s brought up at all, it needs to be brought up by him.”

The dark-haired boy nodded, focusing intensely on his words. “And if he does bring it up?”

“Let him do most of the talking. Listen to how he’s feeling. Make sure he knows you’re there for him.” Koushi said, crossing his legs and leaning back.

“And if he doesn’t bring it up?”

“Then talk about not depressing things. Like volleyball.”

Kageyama frowned for a moment. “I haven’t tossed for him in a while.”

Koushi snorted softly. “Maybe you should offer to. It might make both of you feel better, doing something familiar like that.”

“What if I say something wrong and he hates me?” Kageyama asked softly, like he was scaring himself with the suggestion.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Hinata hasn’t hated you once in his entire life. I don’t think he even has the capability to hate.” Koushi pointed out.

Kageyama looked at the older boy, confused. “He hated me in high school.”

“From what I’ve heard about your high school meeting, that wasn’t hatred, it was jealousy.” Koushi remembered Hinata’s half-rant-half-gay-panic about the fated match.

Kageyama let out a soft noise of understanding, mind probably racing with the new information. Koushi smiled softly. “Anything else I can help with?”

The younger setter shook his head. “Nothing right now. Thanks, Sugawara.”

“Any time, Kageyama.” He smiled, then frowned. “I have never felt more like a mom, and I hate it.”

Kageyama snickered softly. “You saying that reminds me of my upperclassmen from high school. One of them used to say the same thing all the time.”

“Which one, the obnoxious one or the one who was your gay awakening?” Koushi teased, bringing heat back to Kageyama’s cheeks again.

“I thought we agreed to never talk about that!”

The following day, Koushi was pleasantly surprised to find Hinata absent from the statue when he went to put flowers at the base. A quick peek into the gym found the small boy running around, laughing as he was chased by a newly-bruised Kageyama.

As concerning as the bruise was, he was glad that they were back to normal.

“Suga, can I talk to you for a moment?” Daichi asked as Koushi was suiting up for his next venture out.

Koushi looked at him from where he was stocking his bag with sleeping pills. “Of course. Is something wrong?”

Daichi shook his head, stepping into his room. “Not really. I just have a bad feeling about this excursion.”

“A zombie-related bad feeling or...?” Koushi trailed off, not sure where he was going with that sentence.

“I don’t know. Just a bad feeling that you’re gonna get yourself in trouble.” Daichi held out what looked like a car key fob, but only had one button. “Take the panic button.”

“I always take the panic button.” Koushi leveled him with a stare, pocketing the device.

Daichi blinked. “I didn’t know that.”

Koushi snorted, before turning back to packing his bag. “The outside is crazy unpredictable. I’ve taken the panic button ever since Terushima designed it for us.”

“Good to know.” Daichi muttered. “Promise you’ll use it the moment you’re in trouble, and we’ll be right there.”

“That’s the plan.” Koushi sighed, zipping up his bag.

Daichi put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I’m serious, Suga. We can’t lose you. Especially with...her still on everyone’s mind.”

“Natsu died because of something we couldn’t control, Daichi. This is a completely different situation.” Koushi snapped, before recoiling at his harsh tone.

Daichi frowned. “I know that. But you’re our support, and if we lose you I don’t think we’ll find the motivation to survive.”

“No pressure or anything.” Koushi rolled his eyes, stuffing his taser and knife in his pocket. “I’ll come back, Daichi. I always do.”

“I hope you’re right.” Daichi gave him an awkward side hug before leaving.

Koushi watched him leave, steeling himself before going to the yard one last time, silently praying for luck to be on his side.

Natsu Hinata’s grave watched silently as he left, the flowers left there fluttering softly in the breeze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQq98YPV8yk


	20. I'm the Bad Guy (Duh)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's like we walked into Femboy Hooters!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think you know where this about to go
> 
> also who wants to scream abt umbrella academy with me

Tooru wasn’t sure why they decided to have a funeral for a car, but here they were, mourning the loss of Karen on the outskirts of Kansas City. At least they got halfway across the country first, but walking the rest of the way to DC did not sound fun.

They sat in silence, watching the car do literally nothing, before Kenma piped up. “Let me gut it. I can make something out of this.”

“You’re going to dissect Karen??” Kuroo whined, making his boyfriend poke him in the side.

“I’m going to repurpose it. No use in wasting good parts.” Kenma insisted.

Tsukishima looked to the smaller boy. “What are you going to make with it?”

Kenma thought for a bit. “Probably some sort of doorway trap, since we won’t have the luxury of always finding a hotel anymore.”

“Make it a snare trap.” Tooru contributed, making Bokuto snort.

“You just wanna see a zombie hang upside down.” He teased, making Tooru flush in embarrassment.

“Perhaps.” He folded his arms as they watched Kenma dig into one of the briefcases and pull out a toolkit, getting to work.

Akaashi sighed softly. “Looks like we’ll be stuck here for a while, we should probably find shelter for the night.”

“I’ll stay with Kenma while you guys look.” Kuroo offered.

“That works. I think there’s some sort of sit-down restaurant that way?” Yamaguchi said, pointing in the direction of the place.

“Tadashi, I love you, but we are not squatting in a Hooter’s.” Tsukishima deadpanned after they approached.

“Oh, boo. Why not?” Tooru asked.

Tsukishima fixed him with a glare. “I have dignity, first of all. Second of all, I don’t want to think about how many old men have creamed their pants on those benches.”

“We’ll be using sleeping bags, though?” Bokuto questioned, and Akaashi pat him on the shoulder to signal that he shouldn’t think about it too much.

“Let’s at least check it out.” Yamaguchi insisted, opening the door to reveal a completely deserted restaurant.

“It’s so dusty in here!” Bokuto exclaimed.

Akaashi did a quick sweep of the place before stopping them all from moving and putting a finger to his lips, pointing to the ground where oval shaped dust voids were. Wait, no, those were just footprints.

But those were incredibly fresh, and it was likely they weren’t alone in the Hooter’s.

They all drew their weapons (sans Yamaguchi, who lingered in the back, hand on his gun holster), slowly creeping towards the door to the kitchen where the footprints led, and pressed themselves to the wall on either side of the door. Tooru peeked in through the window, eyes widening at what he saw.

A survivor, around his age, was collapsed on the floor, one shoe off and tossed to the side, revealing a swollen ankle. Tooru almost got déjà vu from the situation.

He gestured for them to put their weapons down, whispering the situation and heart nearly stopping when the other looked up at him through the window. Confused hazel eyes stared into fearful brown ones before Tooru collected himself and ducked down, but he knew it was too late. They were so dead.

A soft and almost charming voice filtered in through the door. “If you’re going to kill me, get in here and get it over with.”

“We’re not killing anyone, dude, we’re survivors.” Bokuto yelled back, causing the others to flinch slightly.

Tooru opened the door, allowing the silver-haired boy to see all of them, willing his heart to stop beating out of his chest. The situation wasn’t even that intense, why was he panicking?

Yamaguchi immediately flitted over to the other boy, gently inspecting his ankle. “Is it broken, fractured, or just irritated?”

“Just irritated, I stepped wrong coming into the kitchen.” The other boy informed him, and Yamaguchi nodded before pulling out one of the baggie ice packs and shaking it up.

“It just needs ice and rest, then.” The olive brunette wrapped a piece of cloth over the ice pack before resting it on the swollen part, and the stranger took over holding it.

Akaashi glanced around the kitchen before frowning. “What are you doing out here weaponless?”

“I’m not weaponless, I have a knife.” The stranger huffed. “Also, stealth is a thing.”

“Couldn’t be us.” Bokuto joked.

Tsukishima shot him a glare. “And whose fault is that?”

Bokuto scratched the back of his head sheepishly before they all turned to the boy on the ground. “So who are you?” Tooru questioned.

The silver-haired boy smiled sweetly, cheeks erasing the beauty mark under his left eye. “Koushi Sugawara, but just call me Suga.”

In the end, they’d decided to set up in the Hooter’s, mostly so they wouldn’t have to move their new addition too much. They’d set him up in a spare sleeping bag on one of the benches, Tooru opposite him. Yamaguchi had run to inform Kuroo and Kenma of Suga, and they hadn’t had any complaints to adding him to the group, saying they’d come meet him once Kenma was done.

Bokuto had looked through the back with Akaashi, just to see if there were any supplies, but came up empty-handed on that front. But they did find a bunch of spare uniforms, causing Akaashi to gulp softly at the mischievous twinkle in his boyfriend’s eye.

They came out with a set of uniforms for everyone, and Tooru grabbed his and eagerly went to change in the bathroom alongside Bokuto. Akaashi and Yamaguchi had agreed to wear them, just for fun, and Tsukishima had glared at the white and orange uniform with the fury of a thousand suns. The four of them walked out together, causing Suga to wolf whistle as Tooru and Bokuto struck poses. “Man, if you ignore Bokuto, it’s like we walked into Femboy Hooters!”

Yamaguchi giggled. “I forgot that was a thing, honestly.”

“Oikawa would be the manager or one if he had an ass.” Bokuto joked, causing Tooru to glare.

“Will you shut up about that now??”

“Never!”

After lots of joking and changing back into their usual outfits, it was sundown, and Tooru, Akaashi and Suga had gotten themselves wrapped in conversation when Kenma and Kuroo walked in.

“So this is our new adoptee?” Kuroo grinned, sizing up Suga. “Nice to meet ya.”

There were more introductions made before Kuroo sat at the table they were crowding, Kenma settling himself in his lap. Suga told them about the sudden influx of zombies in the area while they played a game of B.S., courtesy of a pack of cards in his bag, and Kuroo and Bokuto told them about the situation in southern California. They asked about whether Suga had companions, but he just looked at them with watery eyes and requested not to talk about it.

Tooru could understand that.

After a couple rounds where Tsukishima kicked everyone’s asses (his poker face was incredible, really), as well as dinner provided by Suga, they decided to call it a night, and they all settled in. Tooru tried to subtly observe their newcomer for a bit from across the table, but Suga caught on quickly. Abort mission.

Tooru rolled over, falling asleep in a matter of minutes, something that probably should’ve been concerning if he weren’t too tired to care.

A loud noise woke him up, something like a blaring alarm, and he sat up to see Kenma practically leap out of his sleeping spot with a grin. Confused, he looked to a groggy-looking Kuroo, who shrugged. “That’s the snare trap at the door.”

They all got up, walking over to the front door where the trap was placed, gaping at the bags in front of it, filled with food and weapons. Their weapons.

From his spot hanging upside down in the doorway, Suga sighed. “Good morning. Didn’t think you’d be awake this early.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsq-tAz54Pg


	21. See You Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We have guests now-courtesy of me fucking up-and one of them is your upperclassmen from high school."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha this is late because i was busy having a birthday 
> 
> i can legally drink this is a bad idea
> 
> in other news i've got more fanart! find another beautiful kuroo here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CD9n-jhj5li/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Koushi was pissed. He was good at what he did, good at grabbing everything and slipping out before anyone realized it, but to get caught by a snare trap? That had to be his biggest low.

The one with bad hair-Kuroo, right-had tied him to one of the chairs, taking away both of his weapons so he couldn’t escape, and they’d all fallen back asleep. Koushi had tried to struggle out of his binds for the first thirty minutes, but after getting nowhere, gave up and resigned himself to his fate.

At some point, he must’ve dozed off, because he woke up to the others waking up and discussing what to do with him. “I say we leave him for the zombies to find.” The tall blonde-Tsukishima-pitched.

The pretty brunette-Oikawa-and the large boy with his hair in a small bun-Bokuto-both made faces. “Let’s not.”

“I can get you supplies.” Koushi offered, shrinking when they all turned to glare at him.

“And what makes you think we’ll trust you again so easily?” The other dark-haired boy-Akaashi asked, hand drifting to one of his swords.

Koushi bit his lip. How could he redeem himself? “I don’t expect you to trust me. But if you want them, I can take you to my base and get you whatever you need.”

They all looked at each other before huddling to discuss. Hopefully Daichi wouldn’t be too mad about giving supplies to other survivors, but who knew with him. At least he wasn’t dead...

Goddammit, he should’ve used the panic button.

The group turned back to him. “You’re going to direct us to your base. We’ll take everything we want, no objections. You’ll be bound on the way there, and should we get ambushed when we get there, we won’t hesitate to kill you.” Kuroo told him.

Koushi nodded, hoping Noya and Tanaka weren’t on watch today. Hell, if they didn’t run into any of his teammates, that’d be perfect. But things never went perfectly for him.

They escorted him to Karasuno according to his instructions, and Koushi paled when he saw a very familiar figure at the gate. Kuroo and Bokuto kept their hold on him while Oikawa and Akaashi drew their weapons, only to lower them when the person waiting at the gate held their hands up, though that intimidating expression never wavered.

“Hi, Suga.” Daichi said, voice strained. “Have a nice night?”

Daichi had managed to calm down the other group pretty easily, apologizing for his vice captain’s behavior and promising them not only supplies, but shelter as well. “It’s only fair, considering what happened.” He claimed.

As the other group set off to explore the school, Koushi pulled Daichi aside with a glare. “Why are you acting like you don’t know what I do?”

“Because chances are good they might hurt you, possibly even kill you if they found out the rest of us just let you steal and lie willy-nilly. And I’m not about to let anything happen to you.” Daichi hissed back. “I’m going to go keep an eye on them, I suggest you go back to your room and attempt to not cause any more trouble.”

“Yes, dad.” Koushi grumbled, trudging to his room.

He passed by the gym on the way, only to see Hinata and Oikawa talking, bumping a volleyball back and forth. Daichi wouldn’t be too mad if he stopped in, would he? Or he’d just never know, he thought, opening the door and walking in. Two pairs of brown eyes looked over to him, one accompanied by a bright grin.

“Suga, come play with us!” Hinata called, right before the ball that had been in the air bonked him in the head.

Koushi shrugged, before joining them, bumping the ball wordlessly for a while. Hinata broke the silence a few minutes later, never able to stay quiet or still for long.

“So where’d you play volleyball, Oikawa?” He asked, bumping it to said boy.

Oikawa received it effortlessly, sending it to Koushi. “Aoba Johsai, on the west coast. Started with indoor, but I ended up switching to beach after a year.”

Hinata’s eyes sparkled. “That’s so cool that you could actually play beach volleyball! What position?”

“Setter.” Oikawa grinned, overhand passing to the short boy.

“That makes three setters in this school, then.” Koushi mused, dashing to receive a stray ball from Hinata.

Oikawa tilted his head, confused. “I’m a setter, and our starting setter is around here somewhere.” Koushi clarified.

“Kageyama’s super cool! He makes the ball go woosh and fwish!” Hinata exclaimed, causing Oikawa to pause and catch the ball when it came to him.

“Your Kageyama wouldn’t happen to be Tobio Kageyama, would it?” He asked, looking between the two Karasuno members.

Koushi nodded slowly. “Why, do you know him?”

“Unfortunately.” Oikawa griped. “Not a fan.”

The orange haired boy frowned. “Why? Kageyama’s cool.”

“He’s a little brat who pisses me off.” Oikawa claimed, and Koushi started putting pieces together.

“You knew him from high school.” Koushi looked the brunette in the eye, who scowled.

“So what if I did?” He huffed.

This was definitely the annoying upperclassmen Kageyama told him about. Sure, this guy was cute, but there was no way he was anyone’s gay awakening. Koushi mumbled an excuse, leaving the gym to two confused stares, rushing to Kageyama’s room. Chances were good he didn’t even realize there were new people here.

Koushi knocked at his door, and it swung open a moment later to reveal the dark-haired setter, looking a little confused. “Suga?”

“There’s something you should probably know. We have guests now-courtesy of me fucking up-and one of them is your upperclassmen from high school.” Koushi said, causing his brow to furrow.

“Is it Oikawa or Iwaizumi?” He asked.

Koushi told him it was Oikawa, and Kageyama frowned. “Where is he?”

“Gym with Hinata. If you wanna punch him, that’s fine, just don’t injure him too badly.” Koushi led him off.

Kageyama ended up walking in front of him, rushing to the gym, and flung open the doors with more force than necessary, causing Hinata to screech and Oikawa to gape.

“Where the hell is Iwaizumi?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgKAFK5djSk


	22. Out in Public, Make a Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Just say fuck, jeez."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahaha just gonna leave this and run
> 
> yet another big thanks to my sister who makes my angst spicy
> 
> also! the next few chapters are going to be filler, so if there's anything specific you want to see, please don't hesitate to ask!

“Let’s not talk about that right now, Tobio-chan.” Oikawa gave a tight-lipped smile.

“Why the hell not?” Tobio demanded. “Where is he?”

Oikawa’s smile became strained, face pinching and brown eyes turning dark with warning. “Drop it, Tobio.”

He stepped closer and continued instead. “He was always with you. You were never apart! Even when you were fighting!”

“Kageyama…” Suga warned as Tobio stepped right into Oikawa’s personal space. The confronted boy looked panicked, not a trace of the usual smug expression that he pasted on when in his underclassmen’s presence.

Tobio swallowed down his own rising panic at the sight. Something was definitely wrong here. Oikawa didn’t _do_ fearful expressions. He didn’t _do_ obvious vulnerability.

He shoved his finger into his upperclassman’s chest. “Where is he?” Oikawa flinched back.

Tobio grabbed a fistful shirt and yanked it forward. “What are you hiding? You would never leave each other!”

Wide eyes looked back and forth between his own and a whimper made its way into the air between them. “I can’t-”

“I want to see him! Where. Is. He?!” Tobio’s throat was beginning to grow hoarse at this point, yelling so as to have something to focus on rather than his own racing thoughts, rather than thinking of what could’ve happened to the boy he looked up to so much.

Oikawa was shaking in his grasp, hands weakly coming to yank at Tobio’s wrist. “You don’t- I can’t- He-”

“He what?!” Tobio whisper-yelled, gaining volume. “I thought you loved each other! Why would you leave him behind?! Why isn’t he-”

“Because he died!” Oikawa lashed out, tears spilling down his face, voice coming out shrill and broken. “He died and it’s all my fault and I didn’t want to tell you because I know how much you care about him and I didn’t want you to go through the same thing I did and hate me for it I just can’t- I already hate myself enough and don’t want- I just- he’s gone and- I… I can’t…”

Tobio blinked and took in a single shaking breath before his knees were giving out, the news sinking in. Suga was there behind him, he registered vaguely, supporting him and whispering soothing words as he tried to blink through his tears to see Oikawa. The other boy was in a similar, if not worse, state, crouched down in a ball as if to hide from the truth he’d just admitted. Hinata knelt beside him, hands flitting around but not quite knowing what to do.

“Just try to breathe, please. We’ll get through this,” the small boy insisted, rubbing Oikawa’s back. “Trust me, we’ll all get through it together.”

Oikawa peeked up through his knees to lock eyes with Tobio, something unspoken passing through them- understanding that comes with shared loss. There was a beat of silence, and then they were stumbling forward, and Tobio was burying his face in the other’s shirt, muffling his sobs.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t…” He trailed off, clinging to his upperclassman who clung to him just as hard. They simply held each other for a minute, a truce coming to rest after years of competitive tension.

Small arms wrapped around the two of them. Hinata was getting antsy, apparently.

“Not that I don’t appreciate it, pipsqueak,” Oikawa sniffed. “But you’re not doing a good job.”

“I’m doing the best I can!” Hinata huffed, getting closer and pressing his face to Tobio’s shoulder.

Suga walked over, wrapping their other side in a hug, causing Tobio to smile softly. The other setter’s hugs were almost therapeutic, even if he often ended them with a jab to your ribs. That was just the price.

After a few minutes of hugging, Tobio and Oikawa were calm enough to realize that hugging each other was slightly awkward, and that unless it was a matter of life or death, they should never hug again. The four of them pulled back, making sure there wasn’t any snot on their shirts, and Oikawa fixed his hair from where it’d gotten smushed against Tobio, making sure he showed no signs of just breaking down.

“We don’t speak of this to anyone, okay?” Oikawa threatened, causing Hinata to nod avidly.

Tobio wasn’t sure why the rooster-haired guy had a case of various alcoholic drinks, but he knew it wasn’t going to end well. Especially when he’d roped (guilt tripped) everyone into a game of truth or dare.

They all circled up in the cafeteria, the drinks put on a table in front of them, and Kuroo began explaining the rules. “It’s basic truth or dare, but if you decide you don’t want to do something you have to take a drink. Unless it’s trauma related-which, by the way, anyone got triggers I should know about?”

“My sister.” Hinata volunteered, causing the rest of the Karasuno group to nod in agreement.

Daichi put a hand to his chin, thinking. “Most of us haven’t been out a lot. We quarantined ourselves pretty well.”

“Must be nice.” Tsukishima muttered.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t have the same luxury.” Kuroo shrugged, grabbing a beer from the pile and popping it open with Oikawa’s knife. “Oiks has dead boyfriend issues, Bo has not-dead boyfriend issues-I’ll explain later-Akaashi has family issues, and none of us like talking about a rival group from back in San Fran.”

“I think we can work with those rules.” Suga smiled, deceptively nice.

“Great! I’ll be going first, unless anyone else wants to go.” Kuroo grinned before turning to the redhead next to Tobio. “Shorty number one, truth or dare?”

Hinata thought for a minute, judging his face. “Truth. I feel like you’d dare me to drink toilet water or something.”

“How rude, I’m nicer than that.” Kuroo scoffed. “What’s the most illegal thing you’ve ever done?”

“Oh gosh. Daichi, please don’t get mad at me, but I totally accidentally got high one time because I mistakenly ate one of Kinoshita’s brownies.” Hinata confessed.

Daichi blinked. “Didn’t know he was a stoner...okay then.”

“Tanaka, truth or dare?” Hinata asked, leaning back in his seat.

Tanaka grinned. “Dare me, child.”

“Have you actually ever had a girlfriend, or do you just say that to look cool?” Hinata looked confused at the uproar his question caused.

Tanaka huffed, grabbing a beer and opening it before taking a large swig, wincing slightly at the taste. “Man, and here I thought you actually liked me.”

“I do! I’m just curious!” Hinata cried, but it was drowned out by Bokuto and Kuroo’s loud laughter.

“Curious, my ass. You’re trying to humiliate me.” Tanaka surveyed the group before staring down Akaashi. “Pretty boy, truth or dare.”

The nickname earned him an eye roll from Akaashi and a threatening glare from Bokuto. “Please don’t call me that. And truth.”

“Did you do your own eyeliner?” Tanaka blurted.

Akaashi blinked, not expecting something like that, before nodding. “Yes, I did.”

“That’s cool.” Tanaka grinned, causing Akaashi to softly smile before turning to Oikawa.

“Truth or dare, Oikawa-san?” Akaashi’s eyes glinted with something vaguely malicious, and Tobio got the feeling he was about to see his old upperclassman humiliated.

Oikawa considered it for a moment. “Dare me, bitch.”

Akaashi grinned, unnerving on his usually stoic face. “You’re going to regret that. Shake some ass.”

“But he doesn’t have any?” Bokuto questioned.

“That’s the point, love.” Akaashi snorted as Oikawa begrudgingly stood up.

They all watched as Oikawa began twerking, only a few feet in front of an unimpressed Akaashi’s face. Bokuto and Kuroo began cheering and hooting loudly, and after a few moments Tanaka and Noya joined in. Tobio almost wished social media still worked so he could film this for the internet to see, especially when Suga yelled for him to turn for a better view. Oikawa turned, exaggeratingly backing up into Suga, who fell over laughing, causing the brunette to snort as well.

They’d be good together, Tobio thought to himself. Even just as friends.

Oikawa sat back down at his place, clearly pleased with himself, before looking Tobio in the eye and asking the dreaded question. Knowing Oikawa, either way would be disastrous, but he knew the other boy would make him admit something godawful. “Dare.”

Oikawa’s grin widened somehow. “I dare you to give the person to your left a lap dance.”

Tobio’s eyes widened, and he slowly turned to the left, meeting large brown eyes that made his insides fuzzy. Fuck.

He almost resigned himself to one of the drinks before realizing he’d never live it down if he wimped out. He awkwardly crawled into Hinata’s lap, avoiding eye contact as he straddled him and began his attempt at a lap dance. It got a little easier when Kenma started playing some filthy song about sex, the music giving him a good beat to shift his hips to, but it was still pretty bad. Hinata seemed mesmerized, though, not sure whether to put his hands on Tobio’s hips or keep them glued to his side.

After about a minute of that, Kenma shut off the music, and Tobio quickly scrambled off of the shorter boy’s lap, feeling heat rise to his face. Damn Oikawa, taking advantage of his feelings like that. He shook himself out of his embarrassment, before landing on Noya, who was whispering avidly with Asahi about something.

“Noya, truth or dare?” Tobio asked, brain already forming ideas for both.

Noya turned to the setter. “Dare. I’m no pussy.”

“I dare you to dye your front hair pink.” This got gasps and chuckles from all around the circle, and Tobio felt good about his dare until Noya shrugged nonchalantly.

“Sure, dude. Suga, you’ve got a ton of hair dye, right?” Suga nodded at the libero’s question, getting up to go grab it.

While they waited for Suga, they decided to keep the game going, and Noya got an admission of arson from Kenma, Kiyoko did Kenma’s hair in a braid, and Kiyoko was trying to figure out who to victimize next when Suga came back with a box of bright pink hair dye, rubber gloves, and a tee covered in grey dye. He gave the tee to Noya to change into, gloving up and pulling out the dye, getting to work once Noya was situated.

“Suga, truth or dare?” Kiyoko asked while Suga layered pink goop on Noya’s hair.

“I physically cannot do a dare, Kiyoko, and you know this.” The silver-haired boy snorted.

Kiyoko smiled. “I’m aware. If you had to have sex with someone in this circle, who would it be?”

“Just say fuck, jeez.” Suga sighed. “Also, probably a toss-up between Daichi, Kuroo and Bokuto.”

Noya snickered, attempting to look up at the other boy. “We get it, you’re a bottom.”

That comment earned him a harsh yank to his hair, causing him to yelp before pouting at the rough treatment. Kuroo shot a wink to the older setter, causing him to flush softly and for Kenma to latch himself onto Kuroo’s arm possessively. Bokuto looked confused, before realizing something (Tobio wasn’t sure what) and grinning. Daichi just looked done, but that was normal.

They continued to play well into the night, and surprisingly none of them ended up drinking too much, all too prideful (and competitive) to pass up a round. Eventually, Daichi checked the time before declaring the game over, and that everyone needed to go to bed. They all helped clean up, and as Tobio was on his way out Hinata caught up to him.

“Mind if I walk you to your room?” He asked, face slightly flushed-probably from exertion.

Tobio frowned softly. “Your room is down the hall from mine, but sure.”

“Maybe I just wanted to talk to you, is that so weird?” Hinata defended as they made their way through the halls.

Tobio shrugged, not missing the way the other seemed more fidgety than normal. “Are you okay?”

Hinata nodded avidly. “Totally fine! Why?”

“You look like you’re about to tear a hole in your shirt from how much you’re messing with it.” The dark-haired boy pointed out, causing Hinata to groan.

“Not again. I really need to find some sort of fidget tool.” Hinata muttered.

Tobio thought for a moment. “Maybe you can ask Suga to grab you one next time he goes out?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Hinata agreed as they reached the door with Tobio’s name painted on it in dark blue. “Hey, Kageyama?”

“Hm?” Tobio raised a brow.

Hinata looked away, cheeks pink. “Sorry if things were awkward for you earlier, with Oikawa’s dare.”

“It would’ve been awkward no matter what.” Tobio stated, heat rising to his cheeks at the memory.

Hinata looked up at him confused, and Tobio inspected his nails nervously. “I’m actually kind of glad it was you, of all people.”

“Really??” Hinata bounced on the balls of his feet, a wide grin appearing.

Tobio nodded, hoping he wasn’t too red. “You make me feel comfortable.”

Hinata honest to god giggled at that, and Tobio swore he was about to have a heart attack when the smaller boy wrapped his arms around the setter’s waist in a hug. He gently wrapped one arm around the other boy, his other hand coming to rest on top of those fluffy curls he’d like to spend hours playing with.

“I’m glad I make you comfortable.” Hinata’s voice was muffled, since he pressed his face into Tobio’s shoulder.

Tobio couldn’t help the smile that rose to his face. “Yeah. Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsm4poTWjMs


End file.
